Earnhart Family Launches Farm-to-Table Retail Venture
Published: Friday, June 2, 2023
The local farm-to-table movement is gaining momentum, thanks to a Noble County farm family that recently opened their own retail meat shop.
The Earnhart family held a grand opening last Saturday at their new business, Pork 'n Cleaver, which is located at the intersection of U.S. 33 and S.R. 9 in Merriam.
Co-owners Derek and Jamie Earnhart purchased the property three years ago when it was "just a pole barn and a three-car garage." Now, it has been transformed into a retail butcher shop featuring their own pork, along with local beef and chicken. The store also sells deli meats, cheeses and pies.
Derek's father, Steve, and his sister, Darbi Konkle, are part of the team. Derek and Jamie's three school-age children, James, Max and Allison, also contribute.
Jamie said the vision for this project arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply-chain issues caused shortages at supermarkets and consumers rushed to buy their food locally.
"We had a lot of people contacting us wanting meat and wanting hogs," Jamie said. "We couldn't process it legally to sell to them, but that really spurred the conversation and took it to the next level."
She added that they have butchered hogs for their own consumption for many years and had supplied pork to several local meat markets. By opening a retail store with their own funds, the Earnharts are now able to position themselves closer to consumers.
The family operates a 175-sow farrow-to-finish farm near Albion. Derek said their goal is to market all of their Hampshire-influenced pork through the retail store.
The meat cutting is handled on site. Steve and Derek, along with a few additional employees, do the butchering. Darbi works at the store, handling the accounting duties.
Steve's wife, Deb, works full-time at another job.
Derek said their pork has a reputation for high quality. The majority of their hogs are Hampshires, but they also use some Duroc and Berkshire in their breeding lines.
All of the hogs are raised outside, a factor that appeals to a niche market.
Jamie said the bacon and pork burgers have a sweet maple taste, thanks to her own special seasoning—a closely held family secret. The pork chops are larger than average, and the pork burgers come in a unique shape: square, not round.
Derek said the beef offered at the store is all raised by local farmers.
"That was our goal," Jamie said. "We definitely want to be local."
The Earnharts decided to move forward with this new venture after taking a look at the overwhelming demand for local meat butchering in their area and seeing only a few businesses. They say the closest butcher shops are in Churubusco and Nappanee.
According to Jamie, their marketing strategy is very simple: sell to people driving by the busy intersection that runs from Ligonier to Fort Wayne. They hope to catch the attention of many campers driving on S.R. 9 to Chain O' Lakes State Park.
Jamie plans to continue working full-time as an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Central Noble High School, and Derek and Steve will continue running the farm. Jamie said James and Max will help out at the meat shop and will use this as their SAE (supervised agricultural experience) for FFA.
On top of all this, the Earnharts are also active in 4-H and FFA. They exhibit swine at fairs and open shows, and later this month some of the family will be attending the Indiana FFA Convention in West Lafayette.
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