BUILDING A LEGACY
ONE STARKVILLE FAMILY EXPANDS ON THEIR DAD’S CAREER IN BEEF
Beef has been a buzzword in and around Starkville lately - moreso since David Sanders’ family decided to continue a legacy. The late patriarch formed Sanders Cattle Co. in 1987 and was an order buyer for more than 30 years. When he passed away in March 2019, three of his children - Scott, Leslie and Will - stepped in, not only maintaining but expanding what their dad began. It may have been inevitable; they grew up steeped in the cattle business.
“My dad was one of those people that if he was awake, he was working in some form or fashion,” said Scott. “So whenever you were with him you just picked up on the language and learned things all the time.”
Today, Welcome Home Beef prides itself on providing premium cuts of beef, and not only to wholesale markets. The Sanders siblings opened a retail space at 329 University Boulevard in Starkville in February 2020. No one knew then, of course, that a global pandemic loomed just around the corner. In spite of the resulting stress on small businesses, the Sanders’ family-owned enterprise found traction.
“We were able to stay open and actually grow,” said Leslie, whose focus is wholesale sales and marketing.
As some grocery stores experienced meat shortages due to COVID-19 disruption, shoppers discovered Welcome Home Beef, where they could purchase everything from rib eye, T-bone and sirloin steaks to burgers, beef kabob tips, ribs and chuck roast.
The Sanders’ business model revolves around quality. It all starts with locally-sourced cattle, predominantly Angus, purchased within a 120-mile radius of Starkville.
“We ship the cattle to Mid-America in Nebraska where they’re grain-finished, no hormones, no extra additives,” said Will, who works primarily in the retail store. “That makes a difference.“
In Nebraska, emphasis is on a feed program to produce superior beef. The USDA-inspected meat comes back to Mississippi in tender, moist cuts. Additional custom cuts can be done at the University Drive location.
Scott handles procurement of cattle and inventory.
“What we believe is three different things,” he said. “You need good genetics, you need good marbling, and you need age to make good beef.”
As the reputation for that beef spreads, restaurants locally and statewide have become wholesale customers, like Two Brothers in Starkville, who use the meat from Welcome Home Beef for their specials. In August, Piggly Wiggly supermarket in Collinsville began carrying Welcome Home Beef products.
“That was our first grocery store,” said Leslie.
Scott added, “We hope to be in 10 grocery stores by spring.”
A gleaming silver food trailer made its appearance in mid-August outside the retail store, a visible testament to the Sanders’ commitment to expansion. The food truck, open Thursdays through Saturdays for lunch and supper, offers prepared steaks, burgers, tacos, short rib sandwiches, sides and desserts.
Job titles aren’t so important at Welcome Home Beef. Everyone has their area of expertise and pulls together.
“We all have pretty distinct roles,” said Scott. “It definitely takes all three of us.”
Make that four. Linda Sanders, the siblings’ mom, is much more than moral support.
“She is a huge part of the business,” Scott added. “She definitely is a big partner with us, that’s for sure. She’s the glue that binds.”
“I’m so proud of my children; they have worked so hard,” Linda said. “We just really feel like the good Lord has given us this opportunity and that it has helped us all heal and move forward in a new direction, to honor my husband’s memory and to have a new business.”
STORY BY JAN SWOOPE
PHOTOS BY LEDRICO ISAAC & ANTRANIK TAVITIAN
PHOTO CREDIT WELCOME HOME BEEF & TWO BROTHERS SMOKED MEAT
Learn more at www.welcomehomebeef.com
