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Charlie Bougas is incredibly grateful to the Somerville community, but he didn’t want to paint a rosy picture: it’s been extremely challenging.
You are viewing: Who Owns Mckinnon’s Meat Market
Bougas owns and operates McKinnon’s Meat Market, a hole-in-the-wall community meat shop on Elm Street in Somerville’s Davis Square. Like many other local businesses, he’s been struggling with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Every penny, every dollar we make, we have to work ten times harder for it,” he said. “You’re worrying about employees and customers, and keeping everyone safe. There’s the extra cost of protective gear – the price of the gloves we buy have doubled, masks are an added expense, and hand sanitizer is impossible to find.”
Though it’s been a tough few months, Bougas and his daughter, Alison, both shared their immense gratitude for the community.
Growing up in the biz
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Founded in 1965, McKinnon’s Meat Market is known for its steak tips, marinated chicken kebabs, and range of products, like marrow bones and chicken feet for people who want to make soup or stock.
Though Bougas only bought the store in 2016, he grew up in the meat business. His grandfather opened a meat market in 1919 on the North Shore, and, after his father ran it, Bougas took over in the late 1980s. He opened Broadway Marketplace in Cambridge’s Harvard Square in 1995, but has really loved owning a market in Somerville.
“Somerville is a really special place,” he said. “The thing I love most is it’s such a great mix of people. As far as McKinnon’s goes, there are people who have been shopping there for the last 30-40 years, young professionals who recently moved into area, students – we see them all at McKinnon’s! It’s a great mix, and people seem to really appreciate local businesses and are into supporting local businesses. It’s been pretty special.”
The place has a real neighborhood feel. For example, Bougas bought the store from one of the longtime employees, Jimmy Kontos, who a lot of people still know and love. Bougas said Kontos would still be showing up to work every day if it weren’t for the pandemic.
Alison, a teacher in the Somerville school district, used to teach at the Kennedy School and remembers her dad always trying to engage with the community.
“There was a life skills class that needed a place to practice grocery shopping, and my dad immediately offered McKinnon’s,” she said. “He’s so good about being a part of the community.”
Unknown terrain
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Bougas is navigating a number of new processes, especially having employees shop for customers ordering online or for curbside pickup. One complication has been the unreliable meat supply chain.
“For example, the price of pork quadrupled in one week’s time – it was crazy – and stayed up there for a couple of weeks, then all of a sudden fell back to earth,” he said. “The plant closures around the country have had an impact, and beef is still in short supply. Fortunately we have a solid network of reliable partners and suppliers who take good care of us. During the panic when large chain stores were cleaned out of meat, we were still going strong, so it’s good to know somehow we’re still able to source product and take care of customers.”
A more recent challenge has been the street closures or limitations all around Somerville and Cambridge, which have impacted his customer’s ability to access the store. He knows the restaurants need the extra space – and support – but it’s still been tough.
“We’ve definitely had some complaints from customers who are frustrated with the situation, but they understand and people are trying to work together to take the high road,” he said. “We’re lucky to be in the industry we’re in.”
Bougas called this whole experience surreal.
“We’ve had some crazy busy days, we’ve had quiet days,” he said. “We’re a small store, so at the beginning it was challenging trying to get people to socially distance and keep employees and customers safe, but eventually people caught on. …Everything takes a little longer these days, but people are generally pretty happy and appreciative that we’re there doing the job that we do; they understand it’s not easy, and that’s the good thing about being a part of the community.”
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Source: https://t-tees.com
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