WICHITA — Only one week ago, Yoder Meats owner Alan Waggoner called YB Meats owner Eric Kauffman to see if he might be interested in selling his store.
Kauffman was, and now the longtime store at 798 N. West St. will operate as Yoder Meats. It officially opens Wednesday (though there may have been a sale or two in the last day or so) and the deal will close in January.
“He was motivated to be done, and I was motivated to take over,” says Waggoner, who owns a meat plant and retail shop in Yoder with his wife, Carol.
If a one-week turnaround seems like a crazy kind of time frame, Waggoner agrees.
“Yeah, way crazy.”
Yoder Meats has been a supplier to YB Meats.
“We were interested in coming to Wichita,” Waggoner says.
He’d even looked at a couple of sites but was happy to take over YB Meats instead.
“It just made sense for us to own it,” Waggoner says. “It’s a good fit for us.”
He says he’ll sell the same locally raised beef that he previously supplied. He’s also looking at some grass-fed options.
YB Meats previously had a second store at Normandie Center at Central and Woodlawn. It closed in September after two years in business. Waggoner says he isn’t interested in a second store at this time. He’s content with what he has.
“We’re excited to be to Wichita. . . . YB just has a tremendous history in Wichita, a lot of longevity. It’s something that needs to stay in Wichita.”