Leonard Meat & Produce

Photos by Emma Highfill: Rose Wheat Photography

If you’ve eaten at the most popular local burger places in Topeka, you’ve probably eaten beef from Leonard Meat and Produce.

“I tell people you’ve most likely had our product and not even known it,” said owner Chuck Clifton. “We sell hamburger and hamburger patties to over 20 Topeka restaurants.”

Leonard Meat was founded in 1951. Troy Mentzer, the current owner of The Pad Restaurant, suggested that Clifton buy the wholesale meat company in 2002. Clifton had worked at The Pad and served as manager, from 1988-1992, so the two knew that they would work well together.

“Troy asked me how much I knew about meat, and I responded that I like to eat it,” Clifton said, laughing. “That’s how we started talking about working together to buy Leonard Meat.”

EXPANDING INTO RETAIL

Just this year, Leonard Meat and Produce expanded into a retail operation, with a storefront available for walk-in purchases. Customers can shop brats, chicken, pork and beef products at fantastic prices. Leonard’s also offers a wide selection of cheeses, including local cheese from Stumpy’s and Alma Creamery. They carry many varieties of spicy cheese that buyers might not easily find elsewhere in town. The store has quickly become a popular destination for individuals and families, with satisfied customers often raving about Leonard’s on Topeka’s social media pages. Though the move has been a big success, Clifton admits that he was reluctant to step into the retail realm at first.

“About three years ago, my manager, Steve, said we should start selling retail, but I wasn’t sold on the idea at first,” Clifton said. “We were working in a warehouse space and we didn’t have experience serving customers in a retail setting. I wasn’t sure that our location would bring buyers, either, because we’re not on Wanamaker, or a prime location for shoppers, and I wasn’t sure people would come to us.”

Clifton agreed to give it a try, starting with just a single two door freezer in their existing warehouse setting. Supply began selling out almost immediately, so he added another freezer. Still, demand continued to rise steadily, so Clifton made the plunge and remodeled, creating a 1000 square foot retail space, inspired by Osceola Cheese and other retailers, that creates an experience as well as offering a great product at a fair price.

“Our goal is to make your visit fun,” Clifton said. “We have a climate-controlled space for shopping, and I love to put out lots of samples. I like to say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and a sample is worth a thousand pictures.”

SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY

Clifton credits store manager Steve Lisky with the social media savvy that has put Leonard Meat on the map for many buyers in Topeka. Word of mouth and Facebook is the only way that the business has advertised the retail side, so without investing a fortune, they have managed to connect with buyers.

“We respond to needs and comments from social media as much as possible,” Clifton said. “We want to hear what people think about our products and what they’d like us to bring to the store next.”

MEETING NEEDS

Like many businesses, the recent COVID crisis threw some curves at Leonard Meat, but the company came through with flying colors. They worked to supply hand sanitizer and toilet paper through their wholesale connections when supplies were low.

“We wanted to help people get what they needed,” Clifton said, “and we heard from a lot of buyers how much they appreciated being able to access those supplies.”

Fortunately, because Leonard Meats does not sell to many chains, they did not lose a lot of sales on their wholesale side during the crisis. The retail side continued to thrive as well because the business had been building up supply for the retail opening for weeks prior to the shutdown. In fact, business has been so busy that Leonard’s has just barely been able to keep up with demand. However, they did not run out of hamburger while many retailers were rationing and running out of product.

“If the shutdown was the first big test for our retail business, we passed it,” Clifton said. As the owner of a small business, Clifton wears just about all of the operational hats and he’s learned a lot about doing business along the way. His advice: be flexible, be ready for anything and be prepared to work hard.

“You get out what you put in,” Clifton said. “When you own a business, you can work as much or as little as you want. I do create more work for myself because I have a lot of ideas and I’m always trying to do things even better.”