Tenderloin Meat & Sausage president Walter Klopick never intended to open a butcher shop. After the entrepreneur sold his first business – a grocery store where he was the butcher, in 1978 – he worked as a meat manager for the Safeway grocery chain and then as a general contractor.
In 1985, he bought a building in north Winnipeg that used to house a kosher butcher, intending to become a landlord. He renovated the space, planning to rent to another butcher and collect a monthly income. However, a prospective tenant backed out at the last minute, and so, rather than look for another suitable one, he decided to open a butcher shop and meat wholesale business himself.
Tenderloin sells a variety of meats, with 40 per cent of business coming from wholesaling to 40 grocery stores in Manitoba, and the rest to retail customers. The shop sees a steady stream of traffic – up to 300 customers a day. Over the years, he learned how to make a mean kolbassa – a spicy Polish sausage – which has become his biggest seller, accounting for 25 per cent of annual revenues. "We make close to 2,000 pounds of sausages a day," Mr. Klopick says.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Globe And Mail