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Edwards Meats..three generations
of customer service!
Back in the days of 1961, Herb Edwards,
desired to start a retail meat market in the colorful
state of Colorado. An Arvada friend suggested a location
adjoining to Abner's Market, which at the time was
an outdoor fruit and vegetable stand with a small
grocery store in Wheat Ridge. When he made the commitment
to begin his journey Herb traveled on weekends to
pour concrete, build a cooler, and buy the necessary
equipment needed to construct what began the infamous
Edwards Meats. The Abner's-Edwards relationship proved
to be beneficial for both parties.
The two then decided to make even
a bigger move. The businesses were growing by leaps
and bounds so a new location was a must. During a
snowstorm, on October 30, 1966 Abner's and Edwards
Meats together moved from the north side of 44th to
the south side, which is the present location; 12280
West 44th Ave.
Herb's son, Ernie Edwards, worked
side by side with his father to build a quality store
to include products such as U.S.DA. prime and choice
aged beef, pork, poultry, fresh seafood, buffalo,
elk, venison and a large variety of sausages. In March
of 1974, the father-son team built a smokehouse to
accommodate the demand for home-smoked products and
further increase services offered to their customers.
This then allowed them to produce even more products
to the inventory, including their own bacon, ham,
smoked turkey, fish, and sausage.
In 1977, Ernie took over the business.
Then through the years, several of the Edwards family
contributed their services. This included Ernie's
son, daughter brothers, sisters, an aunt, a cousin,
several nieces, nephews and now a couple of his granddaughters.
Ernie was the one to offer personalized service and
quality meats as the business continued to increase
it's customer base. But as time has passed overseeing
every facet of the business was quickly becoming hard
to handle with large volume of customers and mass
production. Ernie turned to his son, Darin, to help
take over the day to day needs.
Now, Ernie's son, Darin, has been
enthusiastically working at the store since he was
six years old. After attending college for a couple
of years, he realized he knew more than they could
teach him about operating a small retail company and
he wanted to keep the family store alive. In 2001,
the father-son duo, remodeled and expanded the store
from 2000 sq. ft. to over 5000 sq ft. The expansion
has been essential to accommodating their growing
customer base. Service counters were expanded, huge
freezers and a new stainless steel smokehouse were
installed as part of the transformation.
New customers are discovering what
long-timers have known for 45 years. In addition to
the superior meats, the family now offers fresh produce,
daily baked breads, gourmet foods, spices, seasonings,
marinades, hardwood charcoal and a variety of smoking
chips. The staff of 14 gladly assists customers with
cooking tips, recipe ideas, and instruction for making
your own sausage and smoking meat.
The latest craze available now is
the Louisiana based "turduckin." This a
turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken,
all with an incredible stuffing in between. On top
of this mouth watering entrée they sell 5,000
pounds of luscious prime rib during the holidays.
If one is looking for a
customer friendly, family operated meat market this
store is a must. This is a one-stop shop for a fabulous
and quality meal! |
