Advertisement

Enter the Country Smoke House of Almont. This family-owned specialty shop is like a dream come true for any palette craving all things Michigan. The small shop is packed with award winning goodies from well prepared venison, buffalo meat, pheasant, elk, and choice cuts of locally raised beef to cooking oils, Traverse City cherry products, Amish cheeses, homemade pierogies and even pasties straight from the Upper Peninsula.

This culinary gem is the pride and joy of owners Steve and Sue Francis who began this business in 1988 in a one-car garage. At that time they were only processing deer, but it quickly became apparent that this venture would demand all of their time.

Over the years demand grew as word-of-mouth spread and in 1991 the Francis' built their current shop on Van Dyke (M-53), just north of Almont. By 1998 an expansion was needed in order to add gourmet meats and specialty foods. Today, the Country Smoke House employs 28 people and recently won a variety of honors at the 2008 Michigan Meat Association Cured Meat Competition including Best of Show and Grand Champion for their whole-muscle jerky.

Despite the consistent addition of new products and expansions of their shop, deer processing remains the key to the Francis' success. "Deer processing is still our biggest business," said Steve who admits to living in his shop from October first through the end of the year each season to keep up with demand.

Having grown up in and around the meat processing industry, Steve has more knowledge than most when it comes to creating a variety of meat products. His parents have owned Butcher Boy Food Products in Detroit since Steve was a child. But Steve's passion has been to take that basic knowledge and grow it to include wild game processing and more customized finishing techniques like smoking.

"We don't use added colors, no dies, just clean, fresh meats without the additives you find in grocery store meats." said Steve who in his spare time teaches seminars for parents on how to make sure the food they feed their children is safe, hormone free, steroid free without added antibiotics.

This kind of community involvement is very important to the Francis family. Steve has been a member of just about every community organization from the Knights of Columbus to the Almont Planning Commission.

For Steve, this level of active involvement has become second nature. When asked why he does so much, Steve simply stated, "I have the ability to help."