NEWS

Local butcher's shop thrives for 35 years

Leonard Hayhurst
Community Content Coordinator
  • Collins Meat Market is celebrating its 35th anniversary
  • Gary Collins cuts meat by hand and is one of the few old fashioned butcher shops still around
  • The shop also offers regular grocery items, beer, lottery tickets and its signature Kong Kola
  • Collins is looking to add sub sandwiches later this year and giveaways to mark his anniversary

COSHOCTON – Customers such as Barb Turner and Betty Langdon couldn't imagine shopping anywhere else than Collins Meat Market.

For Langdon, it's the convenience of having a market near her home. Turner brags about the garlic bologna and fountain pop, christened Kong Kola, to anyone who will listen.

Gary Collins, known as “The Meat Man,” cuts a boneless chuck roast by hand. Collins Meat Market is celebrating its 35th year in business. It’s one of the few traditional butcher shops still in the area where customers can watch meat being cut to their specifications as they order it.

Owner Gary Collins steps out from behind his butcher's block to greet the women when they enter. He teases them on how they know he's handsome, despite being bald. Among the many family pictures and old newspaper articles on the shop's back wall is a photo of a well-quaffed and mustached Collins from around the time the market opened in 1980.

His face has changed in 35 years, but is still well-known. He can't walk around Coshocton without hearing people call "hey, Meat Man," his longtime nickname, or "keep smiling," which has long been his motto.

Gloria Glass handles ringing up the women's orders. She's worked at the store on and off for 15 years. She likes being able to talk to those who come in, who feel more like friends than customers. She knows it's not a luxury she would have working at a major chain grocery store. If she didn't work at the store, she said she would still shop there.

Collins knows he and his wife, Toby, wouldn't still be in business without community support, but he supports the community right back. Collins is reluctant to talk about it, but Turner will brag about how he donated food to the Coshocton Community Watch Group for its meetings and took a deli tray to her neighbor whose son died a few months ago.

"I just enjoy waiting on people and taking care of people. My mom was a people person, so I kind of got that from her," Collins said.

The personal touch and getting fresh meat cut to order is what brings customers back. People from outside Coshocton often frequent the market because many can't find another old-fashioned butcher shop like it anymore. Collins does all the deliveries and cutting himself.

Gary Collins, known as “The Meat Man,” cuts pork chops. Collins Meat Market is celebrating its 35th year in business. It’s one of the few traditional butcher shops still in the area where customers can watch meat being cut to their specifications as they order it.

"There's not a lot of people who work like I do, seven days a week," Collins said. "It's the way I do it. I like it, I enjoy it and the people appreciate it."

Through working at other stores, Collins has been slicing meat for 41 years. When asked whether there are any secrets or tips to his work, he looks dumbfounded. The process is so automatic and so ingrained, he can't begin to describe how he does it. If you want a two-inch steak sliced, he can pretty much eyeball a slab of meat and have it ready go with a smooth swipe of his knife.

In the summertime, steaks fly out the door. An oven-roasted prime rib that's ready to eat was tops this past Christmas with about 1,300 pounds sold during the holiday season. He makes his own sausage and doesn't hesitate to say he thinks his store has the best ground chuck and beef in town. The economy meat bundles he offers are always big sellers.

Collins counts off on his fingers why he thinks his meat tops the prepackaged steaks and chops in other grocery stores — it's made that day, it's fresh, it's quality and it's surprisingly cheaper than larger stores because Collins has less overhead.

"I'm service oriented. I wait on everybody. I don't have prepacked stuff," he said. "If you want something cut, you come in and tell me and I'll do it for you right now."

llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com

740-295-3417

Twitter: @llhayhurst


If you go

What: Collins Meat Market

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday.

Where: 993 Kenilworth Ave., Coshocton

FYI: For more information, call the store at 740-622-4625 or go to collinsmeatandfoodmarket.com.

The History

Gary Collins began his supermarket career in 1974 at Young's IGA in Coshocton. He learned how to cut meat and after high school worked two years at Young's IGA in Wooster. He returned to the area in 1978 to serve as meat manager at Boyer's IGA in Warsaw.

In January 1980, Collins became the meat manager at the Sanitary Meat Market at 420 Main St. Dick Selders had just purchased the business from Pete and Ray Riley, who had run the store for more than 45 years.

Selders sold the store to Collins and his wife, Toby, about six months later, and the store was renamed Collins Sanitary Meat Market on July 14, 1980.

In May 1992, Collins bought his current location, which was formerly Shaheen's Market. Collins Meat Market opened Sept. 30, 1992, at 993 Kenilworth Ave.

To celebrate its 35th anniversary, Collins is planning food giveaways for later this year. He also is looking to add sub sandwiches.

The business has three employees. The store has an eight-foot deli meat case and a 24-feet case of fresh meats that can be cut to order. Dinner rolls are baked fresh Fridays. The store also carries regular grocery items, beer and lottery tickets.