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Print This StoryMaking Room In Madison For More Organic Meat
POSTED: 8:16 pm CDT September 14,
2007
By Nancy Christy and Neil Heinen
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000BratFest, "The World's Largest Brat Festival," has nothing to fear from the Earth Day cookout that made its first appearance in April in the parking lot of the little shopping mall at the corner of Whitney Way and Odana Road. But the modest charcoal-grill-and-card-table affair was more than just an advertising gimmick by the folks at Artamos Specialty Meats and Deli. It was a bit of a business expansion, a reaching out to the neighborhood and a welcome sign of stability for the not-yet-two-year-old company that is gaining a foothold in the growing organic and natural foods market.Indeed, the brats, burgers and chicken hot dogs that were luring visitors to stop by were all organic. But co-proprietors Jason Kreutzer and Eric Roenning are constantly trying to mesh their high quality products and their philosophy of "cleaner" food with a challenging location and stiff competition. There's evidence the business is starting to take off. And it's more than the dozens of shoppers who stopped by for an Earth Day brat.
Kreutzer says the business has grown thirty-five to forty percent since it opened on Labor Day, 2004. That's significant, if not sufficient. "We probably need to grow about ten to fifteen percent (more) to make ends meet on a month-to-month basis." Their plan is to achieve the growth by further establishing themselves as the genuine article, a reliable source of high-quality organic meat and poultry.Their commitment to organic products is rooted in their academic backgrounds (degrees in wildlife management and biology). They worked together on a project that showed the values of sustainable farming methods, and then decided to put their money where our mouths are -- or where they'd like them to be.They claim to adhere to higher standards than the other purveyors of organic meat in town. "We are a niche market," says Kreutzer, "organic in a strict sense. People come here and recognize a higher quality product."To continue reading, visit MadisonMagazine.com.
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000BratFest, "The World's Largest Brat Festival," has nothing to fear from the Earth Day cookout that made its first appearance in April in the parking lot of the little shopping mall at the corner of Whitney Way and Odana Road. But the modest charcoal-grill-and-card-table affair was more than just an advertising gimmick by the folks at Artamos Specialty Meats and Deli. It was a bit of a business expansion, a reaching out to the neighborhood and a welcome sign of stability for the not-yet-two-year-old company that is gaining a foothold in the growing organic and natural foods market.Indeed, the brats, burgers and chicken hot dogs that were luring visitors to stop by were all organic. But co-proprietors Jason Kreutzer and Eric Roenning are constantly trying to mesh their high quality products and their philosophy of "cleaner" food with a challenging location and stiff competition. There's evidence the business is starting to take off. And it's more than the dozens of shoppers who stopped by for an Earth Day brat.
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