Meat+Poultry - August 2022 - 74

SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS
Top: Colton Sells (left) and
Clayton Klein acquired
Klein Smokehaus in
May 2021. (Right) The
hard-to-find German
dried sausage rings
are cold smoked.
" Our local newspaper has an
annual voting process that allows
readers to choose their favorite county
merchants, service companies and
vendors, " Klein said. " We've won the
best barbecue award 13 years running. "
Then there's this little thing in
Texas called game processing and
few companies have a reputation for
serving and satisfying more hunters
than Klein Smokehaus.
" We do as many as 5,000 big game
animals a year, " Klein continued. " They
love our specialty items like steaks and
chops, dry sausages, burger grinds,
stew meats, chili and fajita meats,
snack sticks, peppered jerky and more.
" We take in mule deer, white tail
deer, wild hogs, antelope, elk and axis
(an exotic six-point spotted deer) that
is abundant in the Texas Hill Country.
We also buy inspected exotic game
meats and sell or further process
them into value added products for
our customers. "
Before and since the shop takeover,
the co-owners have expanded its
sausage production area, retail and
cold storage areas, and have added
a 54-seat eating area where regular
customers and tourists stop by to
munch on their popular smoked turkey,
brisket, pork loin, smoked ham and
other favorites from the Klein barbecue
arena. As astute marketers, the
partners also sell their barbecue items
by the pound (to go) and slice smoked
74 MEAT+POULTRY | 08.22 | www.meatpoultry.com
turkey, pork loin, and smoked ham thin
into luncheon meats.
LOCAL APPEAL
When asked how this 'Main Street'
meat shop, where the meat flavor
sells itself, got so popular, Sells put
it simply: " We sell quality. We sell our
pride. We sell our cleanliness. We
sell our customers with our smiles. I
believe we have a personal relationship
with everyone when they feel we are
happy to see them. We always want
to continue that welcome hometown,
local feel. "
Another way Klein Smokehaus
attracts and retains customers is
through their support for the Boerne
community of 20,000. They support
their local 4-H and Future Farmers of
America, assist with sponsorships for
the school cheerleaders and dance
teams and forego radio, newspaper
or billboard advertising. Klein calls it
" word-of-mouth " advertising, or " spirit
of the community " advertising.
Klein and Sells work diligently to
partner with area ranchers, restaurant
operators and even private game
ranchers to process their products
under private labels.
Still, they are staffed with 11
employees, a number that will
mushroom to 35 (including part-timers)
during the busy game processing
season. Both admit that it has been
a challenge transitioning from
management to ownership, indicating
that as managers they understand
and work with the details of a small
business, but that as owners they feel
them personally and take them home
to ponder.
The partners use the
kleinsmokehaus.com website and
social media to keep customers and
potential customers alert to their
services and ship mail orders. They
are also pleased with the volume of
gift boxes and party trays they can
produce. Their signature products
include their variety of barbecue items,
oak smoked bacon and those hard-tofind
or duplicate dry German sausages.
Sells explained that a new offering
from the Smokehaus is its charcuterie
gift box, featuring more upscale items
like smoked beef and pork tenderloins,
hard salami, jams and mustards, to
" dress it up. "
For future growth, the Aggie pair
have their sights set on increasing
demand for Klein Smokehaus's catering
service. While they already have
the " fixin's " ready to go for pickup
for most group events, including
potato and broccoli salads, they are
considering catering some off-site
events like weddings, reunions and
anniversary parties.
" There is definitely a market there, "
they said. " We already have a barbecue
pit and trailer we can deliver to sites
outside of town. "
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