Eckerlin Meats

What Eckerlin Meats does

Eckerlin Meats is a family-owned, single-location butcher shop founded in 1852 by German immigrant Ernie Eckerlin and continuously operated since by his descendants. The business is currently in its fifth generation of leadership under Bob Lillis, Jr., with the sixth generation (Christopher, Dan, Josh, and Katie Lillis) working Saturdays. Its retail stand is located at Findlay Market, 116 West Elder Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, operating Tuesday through Sunday. The product line spans fresh-cut USDA Prime and Choice beef, pork, chicken, hand-cut bacon varieties, artisanal fresh and smoked sausages (including German-style bratwurst, mett, weisswurst, bierwurst), hand-stuffed chicken breasts, and its signature award-winning goetta — a Cincinnati regional specialty of pork, beef, steel-cut pinhead oats, onions, and spices made from a 100+ year-old family recipe.

The technology stack is deliberately non-technological: small-batch artisanal preparation methods dominate, including an old hand-crank sausage stuffer used for 10-lb batches, natural hog and sheep casings, hand-cut bacon sliced to order, and a turn-of-the-century photograph of founder-era family on the goetta label. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer: walk-in retail at Findlay Market, phone orders (513-721-5743), an online order-inquiry form, and direct shipping (primarily of goetta) within Ohio, other U.S. states, and to international customers including visitors from Germany. There is no e-commerce checkout, no proprietary digital platform, no app, and no active social media presence.

Revenue is generated entirely through one-time retail sales of fresh-cut meats, signature goetta, sausages, and catering trays for parties and events. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; customers are directed to call for quotes. Customer acquisition is largely earned-media-driven through features in Forbes, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Saveur, Chicago Tribune, CityBeat, and Local 12, supplemented by Findlay Market foot traffic, word-of-mouth referrals, and Cincinnati Food Tours inclusion. The customer base is composed of local Cincinnati households, tourists on market and food tours, German expatriates and visitors, and party/event catering buyers — with repeat local buyers forming the most loyal segment over a 170+ year history.

Name

Eckerlin Meats

Legal name

Eckerlin Meats

Website

https://eckerlinmeats.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1852

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eckerlin Meats is a family-owned butcher shop founded in 1852, operating a single retail stand at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio. It serves local consumers, tourists, German expatriates, and event caterers with fresh-cut meats, artisanal sausages, hand-cut bacon, and award-winning signature goetta.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Butcher Shop & Artisanal Meat Retail

NAICS

Meat Retailers (445240)

SIC

Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

Butcher Shops & Meat Markets (CRAHAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hot Dogs, Frankfurters & Bologna (Emulsified/Comminuted Meats) (AFANAEAG), Specialty & Exotic Meats Retail (Game, Halal, Kosher) (CRAHAHAF), Ethnic & Regional Specialty Meats Processing (Traditional/Regional Variety-Meat Products) (AFANAJAJ)

Keywords

• Fresh cut meats
• Artisan sausage making
• Specialty butcher shop
• Party catering trays
• Regional meat products

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Meat Sales: Direct retail sales of fresh-cut meats including beef, pork, chicken, bacon, sausages, and specialty items like goetta to walk-in customers at Findlay Market and phone orders.
2. Catering Services: Party catering services offering sandwich trays, vegetable trays, fruit trays, and super-sized three-foot party subs.
3. Shipping Sales: Shipping of goetta and other products to customers throughout the U.S., including German customers who purchase goetta to take back home.
4. Special Orders: Custom orders for specialty cuts and products not regularly stocked, with advance notice of approximately one week.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Eckerlin Meats is a traditional family-owned butcher shop at Findlay Market in Cincinnati that sells fresh-cut meats (USDA Prime and Choice beef, pork, chicken, bison), hand-cut artisanal bacon, fresh and smoked sausages made in small batches using a hand-crank stuffer, and its signature award-winning goetta (a Cincinnati regional specialty of pork, beef, steel-cut oats, onions, and spices). The shop also offers party catering trays (sandwich, vegetable, fruit trays, three-foot party subs) and ships goetta and select products to customers across the U.S.

Product overview

Eckerlin Meats is a traditional family-owned butcher shop operating since 1852 at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company offers a diverse portfolio of fresh, hand-cut meat products centered around several core offerings: premium bacon varieties (applewood, hickory smoked, and peppered), USDA Prime and Choice beef cuts, artisanal fresh and smoked sausages, award-winning signature goetta (a Cincinnati specialty of pork, beef, steel-cut oats and spices), stuffed chicken breasts in multiple varieties, and various pork cuts. The business operates as a single-location retail butcher shop with no digital product or SaaS platform. Products are made in-house using traditional methods, with some items like sausages and goetta prepared in small batches. The company also offers catering services for parties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Eckerlin's Best Goetta: Award-winning goetta made from a family recipe over 100 years old, featuring a turn-of-the-century photograph of Grandmother Frieda's brother, Adolph Eckerlin, on the label.

Products and services

• Bacon Gourmet hand-cut bacon varieties sliced to order, including applewood, hickory smoked (the #1 seller), peppered, maple, and Canadian bacon. Sold to retail customers and food-tour visitors at Findlay Market.
• Beef USDA Prime and Choice beef cuts always fresh, never frozen, including steaks (rib eye, New York strip, filet mignon, porterhouse, etc.), roasts (brisket, chuck, short ribs), ground beef, and specialty items (gourmet burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, stuffed flank steaks). Custom cutting available.
• Goetta Signature award-winning Cincinnati specialty made from ground pork and beef combined with onions, steel-cut pinhead oats, and spices, slow-cooked in small batches from a 100+ year-old family recipe. Voted 'Best Goetta' twice by Cincinnati Magazine; 300-500 lbs sold weekly.
• Fresh Sausage Artisanal fresh sausages stuffed in 10 lb batches using an old hand crank sausage stuffer with natural hog and sheep casings. Varieties include Italian sausage, mett/yardsausage, bratwurst, bockwurst, breakfast sausage, Who Dey Sausage (BBQ-seasoned with cheeses), and beerwurst.
• Smoked and Cooked Sausage Smoked and fully cooked sausages including mettwurst, bratwurst/weisswurst, hot metts, andouille, Polish sausage, and old-fashioned wieners, made using traditional recipes and methods.
• Stuffed Chicken Breasts Hand-stuffed chicken breasts in multiple varieties including Italian (prosciutto and provolone), broccoli and cheese, spinach artichoke, chicken saltimbocca, chicken cordon bleu, and chicken rollatini. Each breast is tied and ready to bake at 350°F for approximately 35 minutes.
• Pork Products Fresh, lean pork including baby back ribs, boneless pork chops, pork roasts, tenderloins, Boston butts, and spare ribs. Also features City Chicken (traditional skewered pork on a stick) and best-selling stuffed pork chops prepared with a homemade stuffing recipe.
• Bison Meat Low-fat bison meat raised without antibiotics or hormones, offered as a specialty alternative to traditional beef.
• Catering Services Party catering offering including sandwich trays, vegetable trays, fruit trays, and a signature super-sized three-foot party sub for events and family gatherings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Weekly sales of 300 to 500 pounds of goetta
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Avril-Bleh Meat Market: Fellow family-owned Cincinnati butcher operating at the same Findlay Market location since 1874. Directly comparable as a heritage retail butcher serving Cincinnati with sausages, smoked meats, and specialty regional products.
• Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors: NYC-based premium butcher and meat supplier with retail, wholesale, and shipping operations. Comparable as a high-end artisanal butcher with strong restaurant and consumer brand recognition.
• Usinger's Sausage: Milwaukee-based heritage sausage maker founded in 1880, supplying Eckerlin's bacon products. Closely comparable as a multi-generational specialty sausage and cured-meat business with strong brand heritage and retail/wholesale channels.
• Klement's Sausage Company: Milwaukee-based family-run sausage maker since 1956, supplying retail and foodservice. Comparable as a multi-generational specialty sausage producer with similar artisanal sausage-making heritage.
• Lobel's Prime Meats: Family-owned NYC butcher shop and meat purveyor known for dry-aged beef, hand-cut products, and national shipping. Comparable as a premium heritage butcher with D2C shipping and artisanal positioning.

Regional players

• Graeter's Ice Cream: Cincinnati-based family-owned ice cream maker since 1870 with national shipping. Comparable as a long-running Cincinnati heritage food brand that successfully scaled nationally via D2C shipping, providing a regional template for Eckerlin's goetta ambitions.

Emerging players

• The Meat Hook: Brooklyn-based whole-animal butcher shop with retail, wholesale, and charcuterie production. Comparable as a small-batch artisanal butcher combining retail, custom cutting, and value-added cured products.
• Crowd Cow: Online D2C marketplace for craft meats with nationwide shipping. Comparable as a modern D2C meat brand competing for the same specialty-meat consumer, especially relevant to Eckerlin's underdeveloped e-commerce channel.
• Porter Road: Nashville-based pasture-raised meat company selling directly online with nationwide shipping. Comparable as a digitally native D2C butcher built on artisan and pasture-raised positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Omaha Steaks: Large established direct-to-consumer meat shipping company. Comparable as a national mail-order meat business with broad assortment and shipping logistics that Eckerlin's goetta shipping channel could mirror at smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eckerlin-meats-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Eckerlin Meats