GENEVA MEATS — The crew at Geneva Meats. From left: Juan Vazquez, David Luna, Paula Broitzman, Dean Anderson, Dan Schmidt, Mike Farr, Doug Felt, John Bjoraker, Diane Smith and Whitey Hagen. Geneva Meats will hold an open house May 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Star Eagle photo by Rachel Rietsema)
BY RACHEL RIETSEMA
Staff Writer
Geneva Meat Market employees take their jobs very seriously. If something’s a bit off, it’s back to the recipe card.
Since their sausage department leader, Dean Anderson, has been in meat industry since age 16, they can look to him for guidance. Anderson knows a thing or two about reaching that point Goldilocks coined as “just right.”
This precision came in very handy at this year’s Minnesota Association of Meat Processors convention in Rochester. Turns out, their specialty snacks and dried beef were deemed worthy of the Reserve Champion award.
“This is basically our first year of competition,” Anderson said. “There were quite a few entries in dried beef, so earning an award for that category was a nice accomplishment.”
Well versed in the meat industry, Anderson attributes their success to remaining a non-cookie cutter plant. He has been Geneva’s sausage go-to guy just over a year now, and in that time, he has put his special touch on a few recipes.
“I’m happy Geneva brought me aboard,” Anderson said. “I just want to turn out a product they’ll be proud of, which will hopefully keep people coming back.”
As a previous co-owner of Nick’s Meat Market in Hayward for five years, he says it feels great to see Geneva succeed, gazing at the pair of shiny plaques decorating their walls.
“Here in Geneva for a little over a year, it’s nice to know we can turn out a product we are happy with,” Anderson said.
So as a first-year contender at this convention, his fellow employees are also more than pleased with the outcome. At next year’s convention, they plan to up their game even more.
“We just like to turn out a good product and have the public appreciate it,” Anderson said.
As it stands right now, their sausage varieties available for purchase tallies between 30 and 40. And now that two cases have been added to the shop, customers can look forward to perusing many more types of meat.
“One case will contain tons of sausage,” Anderson said. “Then, we have one case that has anything from steaks to chops and patties. Stuff like that.”
More cosmetic changes are in the works. All of the market’s floors will soon be refinished as well.
“We’re changing the attitude of Geneva Meats,” Anderson said. “We want customers to think, ‘I can’t wait to get back there.’”
He hopes the constant upgrading, combined with competitive prices, will set them up for many more years of success.
“We are staying busy, which is always a good thing,” Anderson said.
Everyone has also been involved in concocting a new line of venison this past season, which is another example of how far they have progressed in their sausage program.
“People seem to enjoy our products,” Anderson said. “A few weekends ago, we had 1,400 hot dogs go to an open house for Noble RV. It’s always fun to get out with everybody and see customers I haven’t seen in a long time.”
With almost 20 years of meat making feathering his cap, Geneva Meats remains a huge passion of his. Whatever task needs doing; his hands gladly fall right into sync.
“I started at Nick’s as a cleanup boy at age 16,” Anderson said. “Today, I occasionally get into the cutting aspect of it too. That’s fun because I get to go out with everybody and see customers come in that I haven’t seen in a long time.”
