Olde Village Meats celebrates 50 years in business.

FRAZEYSBURG, Ohio – A meat processing plant in Frazeysburg is celebrating 50 years in business with a ribbon-cutting today (Wednesday) and a party on Saturday.

Jeff Smith founded Olde Village Meats in 1976. He decided to open his own business while attending Ohio State University for animal science to become a vet. After working in the university’s meat lab and taking a tour of Smith’s Freezer Meats, he knew what he wanted to do.

“…and I thought, ‘boy if these guys can make money, I ought to be able to make money too.’ So we designed the building, I did, and they put it up. My dad helped, my grandpa helped and we borrowed money to start out with. In six years we had it paid off and it’s been making money ever since,” Smith said.

Olde Village Meats offers custom processing for beef, pork, elk, deer, buffalo, emu, and even ostriches. They have a storefront in their building with meat products and can be found at the Granville Farmers Market. WHIZ asked Smith what the secret was to such long-term success.

“A lot of hard work, a lot of hours. You got to be pretty dedicated to be here and seven days a week I’m usually here,” Smith said.

Olde Village Meats is holding a celebration for 50 years in business this Saturday starting at 4 p.m. and the Zanesville-Muskingum Chamber of Commerce joined them for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday. You can learn more about the party or about their business by visiting their website or following them on Facebook.