Retail Notebook: Butchers hope to follow Renton's upward curve

They had a plan, though, and it called for a change in strategy. From now on, they decided, they would deal only in all-natural meats, and by golly, they would finally get the smokehouse they always wanted.

In December, Shawn and Ted's Quality Meat Market opened in Renton Highlands, serving Misty Isle Farms beef, the same local all-natural Black Angus beef that the diners eat at Seattle's gourmet restaurant Canlis.

With Renton's population growing and incomes there rising, they may have slid into their niche in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, butchers can't keep their fingers crossed. (Occupational hazard.)

"We're not doing this to be millionaires, because we are never going to be millionaires in this business," said co-owner Ted Coffman, 39, who managed Crystal Meats for his ex-father-in-law. "We just love it. My dad cut meat -- it's in my blood."

But, said fellow co-owner Shawn Beresford, they're beginning to breathe a little easier now as their store picks up a few more customers each week -- those who don't mind paying a little extra for free-range chicken and meat that is free from hormones, steroids and antibiotics.

To sweeten the deal, fellow Pike Place Market veteran Frank Genzale shares the building with them, offering fresh produce and nursery supplies at his store, Top of the Hill Quality Produce.

"The niche market for high-quality things is developing in Renton," said Bill Taylor, president of the Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce. "The growth that Renton is having in housing and population is attracting businesses that match the demographic. Clearly the potential is there for more upscale business."

Renton's population has grown 27 percent in the past 10 years, according to Alex Pietsch, the city's economic development administrator. Though the 2000 U.S. Census reported the average household income to be $45,820, the rising real estate prices in Seattle and Bellevue have pushed more people, and their wealth, south in search of affordable homes.

"The housing market is exploding," said Pietsch. "As the income of the region expands, we are seeing more families with significant means come here because they want a bigger house for the money they have."

Within a three-mile radius of Shawn and Ted's Quality Meat Market, the majority of the households pull in more than $75,000 per year, according to 2003 data collected by Claritas Inc. Though Boeing's employment has slipped steadily in the area, other companies, such as Paccar and the smaller high-tech companies popping up everywhere, are making up for the decline.

"We did our homework, looking at the demographics, growth and income, and said, 'Hey, let's make the move,' " said Beresford.

While Beresford and Coffman are banking on the upscale movement of the Renton Highlands, they also hope that having their own smokehouse, from which they produce their own jerky, pepperoni, summer sausage and German sausage, will do the trick.

It's working for Ingrid Brown, a Renton resident who has become a loyal weekly customer.

"My family is German, and I grew up on this sausage -- so I know where you can get it and where you can't," said Brown, a mother of two. "I used to drive to Seattle to buy it, but now they save us the trip."

The butchers, who worked for Mike Greenblat at Crystal Meats in Pike Place Market for a combined total of 29 years, said that their former haunt closed because of changes in the market's customer demographic as well as the nature of the meat industry.

"With the changes in Pike Place Market that were happening, it was being turned into a tourist shop and not a family market," said Beresford. But, he said, "Now, our customers live close by, and that gives us that community feel, like what the market used to be."

Though food vendor sales at the market have increased by 5 percent in the past seven years, Coffman said that the administration at the market would not let them install a high-tech $30,000 smokehouse.

"Every week, we were juggling bills, scratching and clawing to make it through," said Coffman. "To jump right into our own business after closing down shop there was nerve-racking."

But, he said, after "being raised by butchers with integrity," he and Beresford have ditched the "old school methods" and forged ahead.

With $285 million in new construction in Renton in 2004 and the major retail redevelopment of old Boeing land on the way, the future looks none too lean.

IF YOU GO

Shawn and Ted's Quality Meat Market is at 5326 N.E. Fourth St. in Renton Highlands. The market is open Monday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone number: 425-226-2422

Retail Notebook is a Saturday feature by P-I retail reporter Kristen Millares Bolt. She can be reached at 206-448-8142 or kristenbolt@seattlepi.com

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