THE SHOP JACK BUILT

I never knew Jack Gartner, but heard about his famous meat shop for years that is located in Portland . Today my phone rang, emails and even a fax telling me to write up a blog on this exceptional gentleman that passed away this week. All I can tell you is this fact.... people adored this man who built a business on trust, friendship and the finest quality meats anywhere. I never made it there due to the location being out of my way, but many traveled long & far to bring home the finest cuts & chops. Now I regret not making the trek out to the store....not only for the experience but to of known this man. 

The Gartner's Meats story really began when Jack Gartner, a Portlander since birth, returned to Oregon in 1948 after a four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Navy. Settling in The Dalles, he would spend the next eight years honing his skills as head meat cutter at the Easthill Food Center and the Hilltop Market. Anxious to pursue his entrepreneurial longing, Jack moved to Odell, Oregon, to open a small grocery store. But his heart was still in Portland — so in 1959 he came home to the Rose City and set up shop as Gartner's Country Meat Market. 

A year later, Jack's parents, Hans and Frieda Gartner, made it a family affair, joining in to help provide Gartner's customers with the finest smoked meats. Hans, trained as a master sausage maker in Germany, brought old-country recipes and techniques we still use today. By providing quality products and friendly, down-home service, the business grew steadily, and in 1965, Jack welcomed Jerry Minor as his partner. 

As teenagers, both Jack's daughter, Sheri, and Jerry's son, Rick, began helping out around the business — Sheri as a “sample girl” and Rick cleaning up around the shop. Eventually, their enthusiasm and interest in keeping the tradition alive would pay off when, in 2000, “the dads” scaled back their day-to-day involvement and the torch was officially passed on to “the kids.” Today, owners Sheri Gartner Puppo and Rick Minor make it their priority to keep the quality high and the environment fun — a great group of employees working together to serve customers from Portland and beyond the same way we have for 50 years.

Comments

[TomBrooks]

Growing up in NE Portland in the 1960's was a thrill when my parents would go to Gartner's Meat Market - My dad wanted the meat cut a certain way for freezing and they always did it correctly...I believe they were on NE Killingsworth....Their customer service and "take care of your family attitude with our meat's" is hard to replicate...

One of those classic Portland businesses...The Old School of "the customer is always right"!

This was and is a Portland landmark.. joining the likes of Yaw's, Old Country Kitchen, Farrell's, Ringside, Tom Peterson's, LaRog Jewelers, KISN radio... All great businesses of the '60s through today..

[MR STUMP]

LA ROG IS STILL IN BIZ!!!!! LAST TIME I LOOKED!!!!!

[Gene]

My family has been taking their deer and elk there for generations. They've dressed them up into jerky, sausage, peperoni, and all the right cuts to get us through the next year and avoiding a meat bill. They're the very best.

[Kyle Jameison]

Wonderful Man.I played on the Gartner little league team & Mr Gartner brought bags of jerky for the kids on opening day. A great soul and will be missed. This is a prime example of a small business owner that did so much for the community. Very sad hearing this news today.

[J. E. Knox]

"...that is located in Gresham" -- Er, uh, I think you're confusing Gartner's with White's Country Meats. Gartner's is at 7450 NE Killingsworth St. in Portland. White's Country Meats is at 1207 SE Kane Drive in Gresham (used to be on Orient Drive, but the roads in that area were radically realigned a few years ago). Unless these fine meat markets are somehow related...?

[Bob & Lannie West]

He made every customer that walked through his door feel #1