Story City Locker

What Story City Locker does

Story City Locker is a small, family-owned custom meat processor and abattoir headquartered at 236 W. Broad Street in Story City, Iowa, operating as a State of Iowa inspected facility. Founded in 2013 by co-proprietors Ty and Bobbie Gustafson, the company harvests, dry-ages, and processes beef, pork, bison, and wild game (deer) for individual consumers, local farmers, hunters, and small food businesses, with a 30-day typical turnaround on custom orders. The core service is custom processing organized in three tiers — Basic (predetermined cuts, fresh only), Plus (predetermined cuts with value-adds like patties, bacon, and breakfast sausage), and Custom (fully tailored a la carte) — priced per pound of carcass weight. The company also sells pre-packaged Butcher's Choice share boxes online (1/8 beef at $845, 1/2 pig at $403, ground beef at $85) for pickup or shipping, plus a Sausage Kitchen processing-only line for customers performing their own on-farm harvest.

The business model is a hybrid of transaction-fee custom processing and direct-to-consumer e-commerce boxed-meat sales, with revenue derived from per-pound processing rates plus unit-priced box sales. Distribution is primarily on-site pickup at the Story City facility, supplemented by shipping of pre-packaged boxes. The company also offers inspected wholesale processing under the Federal Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program, which enables sale of inspected meat across state lines, and is AGW (A Greener World) approved for humane beef and pork harvest. GTM is direct-to-consumer with no third-party retail distribution; customer acquisition is driven by the company website, phone-based scheduling, organic Facebook presence, and association memberships (IMPA, AAMP, PFI, Choose Iowa). The company is bootstrapped, privately held, with no external funding, no M&A, and operates from a single facility with approximately 9-11 employees.

Name

Story City Locker

Legal name

Story City Locker

Website

https://storycitylocker.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Story City Locker is a small, family-owned State of Iowa inspected custom meat processor in Story City, Iowa, offering custom butchery for beef, pork, bison, and wild game, plus pre-packaged share boxes, to individual consumers, hunters, and small food businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Meat Processing Services

NAICS

Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering (311611), Meat Processed from Carcasses (311612), Meat Retailers (445240), Meat and Meat Product Merchant Wholesalers (42447)

SIC

Meat Packing Plants (2011), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

Pork Processing & Packing (AFAKALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Further Processing (Cooked, Smoked, Cured & Deli Meats) (AFAKALAD), Hog Slaughtering (Harvest & Evisceration) (AFANABAA), Pork Fabrication & Primals Cutting (Carcass Breakdown) (AFANABAB), Butcher Shops & Meat Markets (CRAHAHAB), Pork Wholesale (Primal/Subprimal, Boxed Pork) (AFAIADAB)

Keywords

• Custom meat processing
• Meat butchery services
• Wild game processing
• Meat share boxes
• Sausage kitchen services

Headquarters

HQ city

Story City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Processing Services: Custom meat processing fees for beef, pork, wild game, and sausage kitchen services. Customers pay processing rates based on service level (Basic, Plus, or Custom) and weight of carcass.
2. Butcher's Choice Pre-Packaged Boxes: Pre-determined beef shares (1/8 beef), pork shares (1/2 pig), and ground beef boxes sold directly to consumers online for pick up or shipping.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Story City Locker is a State of Iowa inspected small meat processor (abattoir and custom butchery) that provides direct-to-consumer custom meat processing for beef, bison, pork, lamb, and goat, as well as wild game (deer) processing. The company offers three service tiers for custom processing (Basic, Plus, Custom) and sells pre-packaged Butcher's Choice meat share boxes (1/8 beef, 1/2 pig, ground beef) online for pick-up or shipping. Through the Federal Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program, the facility also provides inspected processing with federal-style marks of inspection for wholesale resale across state lines.

Product overview

Story City Locker is a State of Iowa inspected small meat processor offering direct-to-consumer custom processing and CIS inspected processing for wholesale resale. The product portfolio centers on three Butcher's Choice pre-determined share boxes (1/8th Beef Box at $845, 1/2 Pig Box at $403, and Ground Beef Box at $85) available for online purchase. The core service is custom meat processing across three service tiers: Basic (fresh cuts only), Plus (value-add features like patties and bacon), and Custom (fully tailored a la carte options). Processing services span beef, bison, pork, wild game (deer), and sausage kitchen operations. The CIS Program enables inspected processing with federal marks for interstate wholesale sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Butcher's Choice 1/8th Beef Box A pre-determined beef share box containing 23 lbs of steak cuts (bone-in ribeye, porterhouse, T-bone, tenderloin filet, and boneless sirloin) and 34 lbs of ground beef in single packaged cuts. Sold direct to consumers for $845.00 per box for pick-up or shipping.
• Butcher's Choice 1/2 Pig Box An 80 lb pork share box containing bone-in chops, blade roasts, leg roasts, spare-ribs rack, ground pork, breakfast sausage, and bacon in 1 lb packages. Sold direct to consumers for $403.00 per box for pick-up or shipping.
• Ground Beef Butcher's Box An 8 lb ground beef box in approximately 1 lb packages. Sold direct to consumers for $85.00 per box for pick-up or shipping.
• Beef and Bison Custom Processing Custom harvest and butchery of customer-owned beef and bison carcasses with online submission of cut instructions, published processing rate card, and an estimated 30-day turn-around time. Offers three service tiers (Basic, Plus, Custom) for tailored cut instructions.
• Pork Custom Processing Custom harvest and butchery of customer-owned pork carcasses with online submission of cut instructions, published processing rate card, and an estimated 30-day turn-around time. Includes value-add options for bacon, breakfast sausage, and other processed pork products via Plus and Custom service tiers.
• Wild Game (Deer) Processing Processing of deer trim (no whole deer accepted) for hunters, with approximately 30-day turn-around. Service is offered for hunting seasons including 2022-23 and 2025-2026. Wild boar and waterfowl are not accepted.
• Sausage Kitchen Processing (No Harvest) Curing, smoking, and sausage-making services for customers who have performed their own on-farm harvest and bring boneless trim to the facility for ground and sausage products. Does not include harvest.
• Inspected Processing (CIS Program) State of Iowa inspected processing under the Federal Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program, enabling inspected harvest products to be sold wholesale across state lines with a federal-style mark of inspection. Includes custom labeling with the buyer's business name and third-party labels for resale. Used by small food businesses and restaurants.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Iowa Meat Processors Association (IMPA)minorOthersStory City Locker is an active member of IMPA, an industry association for meat processors in Iowa.
• American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP)minorOthersActive member of AAMP, a national trade association for meat processors.
• Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive member supporting sustainable farming practices and local food-supply systems. PFI is a farmer-led organization promoting sustainable agriculture in Iowa.
• A Greener WorldminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAGW certification for humane beef and pork harvest. Story City Locker is AGW approved for ethical animal take-down.
• Choose IowaminorOthersParticipating member of the Choose Iowa program, a state initiative promoting Iowa agricultural products.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe: Denver-based craft butcher shop offering whole-animal butchery, custom processing, and a curated retail counter. Comparable to Story City Locker's artisan butchery positioning and direct-to-consumer meat retail model.
• Compart Family Farms: Nicollet, MN-based premium pork processor serving small farms, individual producers, and wholesale accounts with custom and further-processed pork products. Highly comparable in custom-processing-for-individual-producers model and ethical/sustainable positioning.
• Lorentz Meats & Deli: Cannon Falls, MN-based custom meat processor offering slaughter and fabrication for livestock owners, plus retail meat sales. Comparable to Story City Locker in target customer (individual livestock owners), service mix (custom processing), and Midwest independent-operator profile, though at larger scale.
• Fleishers Craft Butchery: Multi-location craft butcher focused on whole-animal butchery, custom processing for local farms, and humane-sourcing partnerships. Highly comparable to Story City Locker's artisan, humane-harvest, farm-to-table custom processing model.
• Berkwood Farms: Lincoln, NE-based Berkshire pork cooperative processor marketing heritage-breed pork to retailers, restaurants, and consumers. Comparable as a small-scale, quality-positioned pork processor with a focus on producer relationships and premium channels.
• Beeler's Pure Pork: Hastings, NE-based small pork processor with DTC e-commerce and wholesale distribution of antibiotic-free, heritage pork. Directly comparable as a small independent pork processor with curated product line and DTC channel, similar to Story City Locker's pork processing core.

Broad incumbents

• Tyson Foods: Largest US meat processor with beef, pork, and prepared-foods operations spanning commodity and premium segments. Broadly competes with Story City Locker for the same end-consumer meat dollar, but at industrial scale — relevant as the macro competitive backdrop for the small-processor segment.

Emerging players

• US Wellness Meats: Online direct-to-consumer grass-fed meat retailer offering curated share boxes similar to Story City Locker's Butcher's Choice boxes. Comparable in DTC e-commerce channel and pre-packaged share format, though US Wellness aggregates rather than processes in-house.
• Snake River Farms: Premium American Wagyu and Kurobuta pork producer with strong DTC e-commerce presence and curated share boxes. Comparable in premium-meat DTC channel and brand-positioned packaged offerings, though much larger scale.

Others

• Iowa Meat Processors Association (IMPA) members: Industry trade association whose membership includes small Iowa lockers comparable to Story City Locker in size and service mix. Useful as an ecosystem reference for the addressable competitive set of Midwest independent custom processors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/storycitylocker
• Xx.com/storycitylocker

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Story City Locker