What started as a business opportunity has blossomed into family company. Chad and Shannon Bergan purchased Top Chop, formerly known as Economy Meat Market, earlier this year. Top Chop is a meat shop that offers custom and retail butchering.

“I got two boys (Andrew and Turner) working out here right now and then my third son (Cole) will help every now and then. My wife and daughter (Mia) both help run retail stores,” Chad said. “All six of us have been helping since we’ve opened.”

The business was new industry for the family, so there was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning. Chad had recently retired from the banking industry. Andrew heard about the business being up for sale and suggested giving it a shot.

“We decided to just go for it and learn on the job. People have been very good to us about that,” Chad said.

The community has been very welcoming, Chad said. Since it’s a smaller industry, the butchering world is tight knit. They’ve picked up some tips and tricks from the previous owner and forged connections with the local producers. Top Chop offers retail cattle, hogs, and sheep, as well as custom butchering.

Before taking over, Chad and Andrew had to get the necessary safety certifications to butcher. The timing worked out perfectly for them to attend the required trainings in Minneapolis, MN. Turner and his classmate, Jon, recently graduated high school and assist with butchering full time now.

The last six months have been crazy, but a good crazy, Chad said.

“We’re learning every day, and we’ll probably always keep learning every day,” Chad said. “But it’s getting better and better.”

Internet trends make the retail side a new adventure every day, Chad said. They have to keep up with the trends and stay aware of the quickly shifting demand. Different cuts of meat become hot overnight or are renamed and then there’s a rush of orders.

At the moment, the Bergans are trying to maintain the balance between custom processing and keeping retail on hand. Top Chop butchers twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and processes the other three days. All their cattle hang for a minimum of two weeks. Some custom orders will hang for three. Hanging allows the muscles to soften and relax, which produces a better flavor, Chad said.

“We’re busy,” Chad said. “It’s a good busy, so we’re happy with that.”

While they’ve made a couple changes to the business already, more are planned for the future. Chad’s background in banking helped smooth the way to implement technology that would streamline processes. One of the first upgrades was to the point of service systems, including the phone tree. Now when customers call, crew at both the Bath and Aberdeen locations can answer and transfer between locations. In addition, new processing equipment helps speed up the process to portion out meat for sausages and ground meats. They’ve started dabbling in new seasonings. So far, they added honey BBQ beef sticks to their retail selections. Chad hopes they will be able to start accepting deer in the near future.

“There’s always something we want to do. It will take us time, but we’ll get some more things going,” Chad said, “Hopefully get some additional new technology.”