Old Recipes, New Leadership: Herman's Meat and Smokehouse
Brothers-in-law Chad Bontrager and Matt Deutsch, the owners of Bowser Meat Processing and Yoder Meats, have been long-time admirers of Herman’s Meat and Smokehouse. Matt thought if it ever went up for sale, they should consider buying it.
After three generations of ownership by the Herman family, the local smokehouse finally went on the market in 2022. Chad and Matt seized the opportunity.
“When it did come up for sale, the idea of another retail meat store wasn’t crazy to think about,” Chad said, adding the dine-in side of things was a different story.
They didn’t have experience running a restaurant, so the smokehouse and barbecue offerings at Herman’s were new territory. And while it wasn’t their first business in Kansas, it was their first business in the capital city.
Three years in, things are going well, Chad says. Most of Herman’s products and menu offerings haven’t changed, but they have made a few additions, most of which draw on the new owners’ access to other Kansas-sourced products.
“We’re still a small, local business,” Chad said. “Herman’s is a stand-alone business. The owners are local people. Our employees are local people, and we really rely on the Topeka community to come in and shop with us.”
A NEW BUSINESS MODEL
Chad said he and Matt have been figuring out the restaurant business as they go, and rely on their management team more than Herman’s might have in the past. The business employs about 15 people — 12 full-time and three part-time employees.
“We are managing Herman’s with a different management model than in the past. That’s taken some getting used to for everybody,” Chad said. “Prior to us owning it, there was a Herman family member in the store every day interacting with customers, cutting meat, doing all the things you do as an owner and manager.”
Kitchen manager Jesika Mitchell, who has been with Herman’s for about four years, sees the new model as an opportunity for her to step up and grow as a management professional.
“It’s definitely different, but things have been running pretty smoothly,” Jesika said.
She now makes all kitchen-related decisions, like how many briskets or pork butts to smoke on a given day. She also helps curate the restaurant’s Friday lunch specials — a new feature under the updated business model.
“It’s actually new menu items, not just different specials of the day that we already have on the menu,” Jesika said.
While she sees a lot of the same customers, she says they’re attracting plenty of new ones, too.
CARVING OUT SUCCESS
Chad is focused on growing the restaurant side of the business, which hasn’t been around as long as the meat counter and store.
“That’s where we see a lot of growth potential, with the restaurant business, catering and dine-in,” he said.
In addition to Friday specials, they’ve introduced online ordering. Rather than taking the restaurant in a different direction, Chad hopes to build on the well-oiled systems that were already in place.
“The menu’s really solid. The food is good. There’s some good synergy with the meat shop that we understand now,” he said. “The brisket, pulled pork, turkey and chicken that you get in the restaurant are the same products we’re selling in the meat shop. We have an inventory of those items all the time. If customers are saying, ‘Man, that brisket I had in the restaurant was really good. I’d like to try to make that at home,’ you can get the brisket right here.”
As head of operations, Chad handles most of the day-to-day business, while Matt and his wife, Melissa, handle accounting, bookkeeping and other behind-the-scenes needs.
“I try to be here every day we’re open, just to check in, make sure things are going okay and take care of anything that’s my responsibility,” Chad said.
He collaborates with Jesika to plan specials or prepare for spikes in demand around the holidays, and he’s available to talk through incoming deliveries or answer questions about new products going on the shelves.
“I’m also the fill-in if somebody needs a day off or they’re sick,” he added. “I’ll come in and cut meat.”
THE PERFECT CUT
In total, the ownership group runs six retail stores and two processing plants. Herman’s is their only Topeka-based business, and the only store with a dine-in service. Yoder Meats has a store in Lawrence, three retail stores in Wichita and a store and processing plant in Yoder. Bowser Meat Processing consists of a plant in Meriden.
“Herman’s is a nice fit with our whole package of businesses,” Chad said. “We brought in a lot of Yoder Meats products to Herman’s and they’re doing well. We brought in a few Bowser Meat Processing products, as well.”
Among the more popular additions are homemade cinnamon rolls from Yoder, arriving fresh on Thursday afternoons.
“By the time we close on Saturday, the cinnamon rolls are gone,” Chad said. “So those are really popular. We also bring in a lot of fully cooked bratwurst and links and summer sausage. Right now, the brats and links are selling really well. At Christmastime and New Year’s and so forth, we can hardly keep the summer sausage in stock.”
Customer response has been positive, he adds, pointing to Yoder snack sticks as another popular addition. After taking over, they gradually brought in new items over time to see how they would sell, and to ensure they had room.
“We didn’t kick anything out,” Chad said. “We added these products to what Herman’s was offering before, so we’re just giving people more options.”
A MEATY OPPORTUNITY
While Matt and his wife live in Topeka, Chad and his family live in Holton, where he was born. Growing up on a farm nearby fed his interest in agriculture production, and in turning raw materials into usable products.
His career didn’t start in the meat industry, though.
“I went to college at K-State and got a bachelor’s degree in milling science and management,” Chad said. “Basically, I was trained to run flour mills. That’s what I did after college for about 10 years. I lived and worked in different parts of the country and then had the opportunity to come home to Kansas.”
When he returned to Kansas, he went to work for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. During his time there, he oversaw meat and poultry inspection.
“On occasion, I would go out with the inspectors, just to spend some time and see what their day-to-day looked like and interact with the customers of the agency, which were the meat plant owners and managers,” he said. “I learned there were a lot of folks reaching retirement age, and there weren’t people interested in buying the business or a next generation to hand it off to.”
He appreciated the business, saw its potential and thought the industry just needed someone willing to get into it. In 2016, his family made their first investment in the meat business with Bowser Meat Processing.
“Like so many things, once you’re in the business, you start interacting with other people in the business and going to industry meetings and trade shows. Pretty soon, we’re finding out that Yoder Meats is available for sale,” Chad said. “We ended up buying into that, too.”
Along the way, Chad and his business partner continued to look for ways to grow, and they were intentional with the opportunities they pursued.
“But I would say the opportunities happened organically,” he said.
They’ve carefully developed a greater meat retail presence across Kansas, and Herman’s happens to be the latest link in the chain.
“I’ve learned over the years that I enjoy building things,” Chad said. “Building organizations and building businesses — I enjoy that part of what I do.
