Meat+Poultry - February 2018 - 8

C O M M E N TA R Y

Family links
For many years, the February issue of
MEAT+POULTRY has been designated
as "The Annual Sausage Report,"
with coverage focusing on this iconic
segment of the industry. The history
and the people behind some of the
most successful sausage companies
reflect a passion for their trade and
a commitment to succeeding that is
based on keeping their family's legacy
alive and well. Two such companies
are featured in this issue, in two very
contrasting cities and each with a
unique business plan led by two very
different family owners: Chicagobased Makowski's Real Sausage Co.
and Southside Market and Barbeque
Inc., based in Elgin, Texas. To hear
each owner's story, it's easy to see
why they are so passionate about their
careers and how they were inspired to
pursue careers in their family's meat
businesses. Makowski's is approaching
its 100th anniversary while Southside
has been in business since 1882.
Nicole Makowski, bought her
family's sausage business when she
was just 22 and has never looked back.
As the fourth-generation owner she
admits however, she wasn't always
drawn to working in the Makowski's
family business she worked in growing
up but was convinced it was the perfect

career choice by her grandfather
who urged her to go to college while
working at the plant. She took his
advice and is thankful she did. She
bought the company from her dad and
uncle and was encouraged to make
changes in whatever manner she saw
fit. She is a hands-on owner who takes
pride in working on the processing
floor to grow the company's popular
natural and organic sausage business.
"I found a true love for the sausage
business," Makowski says. "It was our
family business and I was so excited
about the opportunity to take over and
see what I could do."
Meanwhile, Bryan Bracewell jokes
that he was destined to work in the
meat industry the day he was born and
is now the third generation of his family
to own and operate two barbecue
eateries and a sausage processing
plant that is adjacent to the restaurant.
He stepped away from the business
for four years to get a food science
degree and went right back to work at
Southside after graduation.
Running the legendary barbecue
restaurants in central Texas, Bracewell
was mindful of not pushing too much
change too soon after returning to the
company after college. Southside's
retail offerings have flip-flopped from
the days when Bracewell first joined
the company full time, with over 95
percent of its sausage products being
smoked versus about 5 percent in the
fresh category. This transition was
intentionally gradual, he says. He told

me that because Southside is a small,
family owned business, "you often do
what you do, most of the time because
that's what you're told to do, not
because it's right or wrong but 'that's
just the way we do it.'"
The company's signature beef
sausage and a limited variety of other
styles of links now make up about half
of the company's revenues. The sausage
is wildly popular at his two restaurants
and is gaining momentum among
retail customers while online sales are
steadily increasing.
Marketing is another area the two
companies approach differently but
successfully. Being based in a foodierich market Makowski's is thriving by
capitalizing on its ability to serve as
a custom processor and rolling out
a variety of specialty sausages. As a
product-development-focused company,
it now makes more than 200 SKUs.
Conversely, Bracewell says for its
first 125 years, his company offered only
two varieties of sausage before finally
rolling out five new flavors and profiles.
Keeping ingredients simple (mostly
salt and pepper and coarsely ground
beef) and flavors consistent have been
his secret to success. As a Texas-based
sausage maker, Bracewell says the
expectations of his core customers are
basic: smoked beef sausage.
As the February issue reflects, the
sausage segment is alive and well and
the recipes for success are as varied as
the number of products on the market.
J O E L C R E WS, E D I TO R | j c r e w s @ s o s l a n d .c o m

Makowski's is approaching its 100th anniversary
while Southside has been in business since 1882.

8

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Meat+Poultry - February 2018

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