Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Wilson.
Hi Mark, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been in the grocery/meat business since November 1984 when I started working for Pat Heath at Heath’s IGA in Gaylord, Michigan where I grew up. Pat Heath was the owner and taught me I could get a world-class education if I would just learn something new everyday and apply what I learned to my life. I worked and mastered every department and ended up in the meat department where Don Campbell, the meat manager, was the first one to put a knife in my hand. Don promised me if I were to listen to him I could become a successful meat manager. The first Denver Steaks I cut were so thick Don put them out as roasts…as the store transitioned I was given the opportunity to work under an excellent meat merchandiser and butcher, Tom Shather, who really knew the meat business and made me understand the complexity and intuitiveness of becoming an excellent butcher.
I moved to Traverse City December, 2, 1990 and within 6 weeks was the youngest manager at 21 years of age Dan Deering from Tom’s Food Markets had ever hired. Dan ran a tight ship. I continued to apply my collective knowledge on a daily basis and practiced for some day in the future when I would own my butcher shop. I worked my way to store manager in 1998 and on June 17, 1999, Father’s Day weekend, I started my career at Maxbauer’s Specialty Meat Market. I worked for the Mike Deering at Maxbauer’s for six years, and I wanted to at least know there was a path for me to purchase the store when Mike retired. He just wasn’t ready to sell
I went to work for a local start-up meat market for 5 months and I got fired. They thought they could do it without me. They closed within 6 months of firing me and one of the partners came to me years later to apologize and said he should have had me for a partner, not his cousin. I couldn’t have agreed more. I then worked for Bed Bath & Beyond as a Customer Service Supervisor and taught 75 product classes, and became an excellent bridal consultant.
August 20, 2012 I purchased Maxbauer’s Specialty Meat Market, my daughter Gabi was 6 and she was mad because I worked many long hours. After a year or so, she decided she liked owning a meat market, After owning the market for 7 years, I felt it was time to open the Butcher’s Block by Maxbauer on the eastside on South Airport Road. I knew my future was at hand and USDA meat sales with super clean ingredients is what I had always hoped to achieve. It wasn’t easy. There were tons of tears, failures along the way, relational separation for me, and lost hopes. You know what? I did not give up. And now as the sole proprietor of the Butcher’s Block by Maxbauer, the vision of feeding northwest Michigan and beyond is revving up again in my spirit. God has brought a wonderful team together in the retail meat and production kitchen.
The setbacks I have experienced in my life, in the grocery business, and in building a USDA meat plant has made me tougher, kinder, and a little bit wiser. I am far more focused on the now, without losing sight of the dreams I pursue. I love people and hope the best for my customers, of whom I consider friends. I’m not for everybody, but for the naysayers, well, who cares what they think. They are probably vegetarians. And my life and the mercies and challenges I have overcome are a testimony of an imperfect person doing his best to serve God himself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known for being a butcher, a master sausage maker, entrepreneur, somewhat of a visionary in the meat business. I am proudest of being a father to three of the best kids a dad could ever be blessed with and grandpa to the three best granddaughters in the world and one grandson in the oven. Oh, I love my mom dearly and she is one of the best friends I know. So I am proud to be her son.
Whats sets me apart? I have more energy than most people you have ever met, to say the least.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Listen to people and be friends with people who build you up. Like Rocky Balboa says, “Life is not about getting knocked down its about getting back up. It’s about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward. This is how winning is done.”
Pricing:
- I would rather explain the price, then apologize for the quality.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.butchersblocktc.com
- Instagram: @thebutchersblockbymaxbauer
- Facebook: The Butcher’s Block by Maxbauer
