Elmwood, Wis., population 810, may not have all the features of a large, urban metropolis, but it does have something that many cities wished they had: an award-winning, multi-generation, family-owned meat processing specialist. Sailer’s Food Market & Meat Processing has been satisfying its customers in the town and surrounding area since 1923, so the company has a pretty good grasp on what its customers want. When it comes to Sailer’s award-winning bacon, they’ll take “time-honored” over “hot and trendy.”
“We’ve never had anyone come in looking for a whiskey bourbon bacon or a raspberry chipotle bacon; they’re happy with what we offer, so I keep running with that,” says Jake Sailer, the fifth generation of the Sailer family who has operated the business. “I remember hearing, when this whole flavored bacon craze started coming down the pike, was ‘Don’t make too many flavored bacons, where it starts taking away from your good, quality bacon.’ That’s been my philosophy, because we do so well with our regular bacon, and I don’t want to get into competing against myself.”