When We Say Family Owned… We Mean It!
Although Calhoun’s Custom Meats opened and began operation in April 2022, their story goes back nearly 60 years. In the early 60’s, Sherrell and Jeannie Calhoun entered the feed milling business, and opened what was originally known as Calhoun Feed Service in Madisonville, KY. This soon led to them owning and operating both hog and cattle farms, eventually becoming known as Colonial Farm. Over the years, the Calhoun’s feed milling and farming enterprises have grown, allowing for the next generation to grow and expand the businesses, eventually beginning Calhoun’s Custom Meats.
Mike Calhoun, son of founders Sherrell and Jeannie and current manager of retail operations, says that the business’s success and long standing legacy is thanks to their family name.
...[our customers] know that we care about our product, not just in the meat business but in the feed and farming industries.
“The Calhoun name has been in the community for as long as most people have been around, and so I think with the reputation that we have, people know that name and they know that we’re going to provide good customer service,” Mike said assuredly. “They know that we care about our product, not just in the meat business but in the feed and farming industries.”
One of the many appeals of Calhoun’s Custom Meats is the dedication towards maintaining high-quality products that are cared for and made with the customer in mind. With many family-owned and local businesses, the safety of every purchase is top priority, and Calhoun’s is a glowing example. With so many dedicated people taking care of each step of production, customers can be guaranteed that they are not getting something that is mass-produced, but is rather catered and crafted with keen attention to detail and quality.
“I think when people see that it’s a local, family owned business people, like to know that their meat comes from this area… that it’s grown here locally, I think that has a lot of appeal to people,” Mike said. “I have a lot of customers who walk into the store that ask a lot of questions and I think they feel comfort knowing that our meat was raised 10 miles from here, and that I can answer all their questions. They can know exactly how it’s grown and what we feed them. They get to know the whole gambit.”
I think they feel comfort knowing that our meat was raised 10 miles from here, and that I can answer all their questions.
Mike is one of many with the Calhoun name who are dedicated towards their business and the multifaceted parts of production. His brother runs all farming operations and oversees each individual cow and pig. Mike’s sister, a CPA, is in charge of all finances and accounting. Mike’s brother-in-law is incredibly active in the business, described as a “big picture type of person” who brings new ideas to the table. The constant communication, checking-in, and hard work between family members allows their business to be both successful and professional.
“We are definitely a working family and have working ownership,” Mike exclaimed, proudly. “We have key people at each part of the business.”
This hard work across the entire family and business is what allows Calhoun’s to maintain such a personal and reliable image, one that customers new and old can come back to feeling well cared for.
“I think customers see that I’m in the stores everyday and they feel comfortable coming in here because they know that that’s our livelihood,” Mike added. “They know we’re not going to intentionally put out any kind of shoddy product, whether it’s at the feed store or the meat store, because we want satisfied customers. We’re a part of this community, but our customers aren’t just the community; they’re our friends.”
