John’s Butcher Shoppee supplying meat to masses during pandemic
Owner Tom Kolisch said hard work has allowed his John’s Butcher Shoppee in Festus not merely to survive, but to thrive, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The business at 503 N. Mill St. has found ways to supply its customers meat during a time when such food staples have not always been easy to find.
“We were one of the few places open where you could go to get meat,” Kolisch said. “We just worked night and day with our distributors to keep the supply of meat going.”
He said word spread that John’s Butcher Shoppee continued to offer meat while other stores’ shelves were picked clean, so he welcomed new customers to his shop.
“A lot of people either didn’t know we were here or just learned we were here,” Kolisch said. “We’ve retained a lot of them. We’ve increased our business.”
He said one change he made during the pandemic was to shorten the hours of operation.
“It’s a slight change to give us more time to sanitize and get ready,” Kolisch said.
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. It remains closed on Sundays.
He said his business continues to strive to give customers the meat products they want.
“We are doing well,” he said. “We’re doing sides of beef and pigs. For a while we didn’t have the time or the product to do it.”
Kolisch said the market has been open close to a half century.
“We are solid,” he said. “We started in 1974 and we’ll do another 25 years, at least.”
