Judy Kolisch, matriarch of the family that owns John’s Butcher Shoppee, said she has always stressed the importance of providing superior customer service.
“My theory is, (customers) don’t have to come through the door. You have to be nice to get them to come in,” she said.
That policy has helped John’s Butcher Shoppee reach 50 years in business.
The operation has locations at 503 N. Mill St. in Festus and at 2608 Walton Road in Overland.
“We opened 50 years ago (in 1974),” said Judy’s husband, the John of John’s Butcher Shoppee. “The first one (in Overland) has never changed locations.”
The second location has moved a few times. It began operations in High Ridge and moved to Crystal City before relocating to its present location in Festus, John said.
“The flood of ’93 took out the Crystal City building,” Judy said. “That’s when we moved here.”
John, 83, and Judy, 82, who are retired, live in the Hillsboro area.
Their sons operate the business now. Tom, 61, of Arnold runs the Festus shop, and Mike, 63, of St. Louis runs the Overland location.
During a recent interview for this story at the Festus store, the Kolisches often stopped to chat with customers who came inside.
Tom said that is not unusual since the business has cultivated repeat customers at both John’s Butcher Shoppee locations.
“We’re very customer oriented,” he said. “The stores are 50 miles apart, but we’ll see a customer from Overland show up here. We get people from Farmington. We get Illinois customers.”
Tom said the business has adapted to meet the needs of its customers over the years.
“They still like the fresh cuts,” he said. “We still sell things from the old days, as well as newer (products), like picanha.”
Picanha is a cut of beef made popular in Brazil. It can be hard to find in the U.S., where it is known as a rump cap, sirloin cap or coulette steak.
“That’s something you don’t find everywhere,” Tom said.
He said it’s important to offer cuts not always offered in supermarkets.
“I think a lot of people don’t cook like their grandmas did, but if they passed the recipes down, (their families) can get the meat they need here.”
John credits Tom with keeping up with what customers want.
“Tom put in a lot of innovations,” he said. “He’s got 200 kinds of bratwurst. (When the business started), people didn’t know what bratwurst was.”
Earlier this year, Tom and Mike received a Share the Harvest Partner of the Year Award at the annual Conservation Achievement Awards for the John’s Butcher Shoppee participation in a state program for processing deer meat from hunters to donate to area food pantries.
John said when he opened the business, he had no idea if John’s Butcher Shoppee would catch on with the public.
“I was going to buy lawn chairs to put in front of the store and see if people would come,” he recalled. “When we went to open the door, there was a line of people waiting to come in.
“We never bought the lawn chairs.”