Don’t worry! We’re still here, and you can still shop with us.

You can continue to shop our in-person ranch store each week or shop online for delivery, just like always. Nothing about our store hours, local shopping, or shipping has changed.

The only change is that we are no longer offering online à la carte orders for local pickup.

This does NOT apply to Farm Club Local Pickup. Farm Club members can continue picking up exactly as they always have.

I want to say that clearly, because based on some of the responses we received when we shared this update a couple of weeks ago, I realized I may have unintentionally given the impression that we were closing our doors to local shoppers and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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How we got here

We began shipping our meat in 2019. When local customers asked if they could pick up instead, we happily made it work. Orders were scheduled, pulled ahead of time, and stored in our walk-in freezer for pickup right on the ranch.

When we later built our in-person store, we kept that system in place: customers could shop online, place an order, and swing by to pick it up or they could browse our freezers!

Over time, though, what once worked well turned into something that was no longer sustainable for our family or our business.

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Why we made this change

Here’s a transparent look at what ultimately led to this decision.

Storage
Most local pickup orders weren’t collected the same week they were placed. That meant we were regularly storing and reshuffling 10–20 unclaimed boxes at a time. Last fall, that added up to more than a full pallet of product sitting in our freezers; space we simply don’t have to spare.

Product loss from broken seals
Repeatedly moving boxed, vacuum-sealed product causes seals to weaken over time. When that happens, freezer burn becomes a real risk. If an order sat unclaimed for weeks or months, there was often product we could no longer sell, leading to replacements or refunds that added up quickly.

Refunds
When customers couldn’t make it in, misunderstood store hours, or changed plans, we were often asked to issue refunds. Each refund costs us roughly 2.5% in non-refundable credit card fees. In an industry with already-tight margins, those losses matter.

Labor
As our farm and butchery have grown to support our family, preparing both shipped orders and local pickup orders became increasingly difficult. To keep up, we had to add extra warehouse labor just to pull orders and prep the store before opening each Saturday. On top of that, we were emailing customers to let them know their orders were ready; messages that often landed in spam folders and went unseen for weeks.

When we looked closely at our operations, this was the single biggest added expense tied to the pickup program.

Abandoned packages
This past year especially, we saw a sharp increase in orders that were never picked up. We simply can’t accommodate situations where a purchase made in April is claimed months later. The frequency of this issue, paired with the labor involved, ultimately made the program unsustainable.

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Where this leaves us

This was not an easy decision. It was a necessary one we made so we can keep doing what we do well, without burning ourselves or our team out.

We truly hope you’ll continue shopping with us:

• In person, right from our ranch store freezers
• Or online for delivery, shipped straight to your door

Thank you for your understanding, your support, and for continuing to walk alongside our family and our farm.

Happy January,