{ fresh from the farm }
Welcome Home Beef BY JAY REED
I
t was early February when Welcome Home Beef opened its doors in Starkville. Barely a month later, the country was in full-fledged pandemic mode. Restaurants were either closing or transitioning to curbside, and locals who might normally be eating out several times a week were barely leaving their homes. Thankfully, buying food was declared essential. And for food lovers who found themselves with lots of extra time while working (or not) from home, Starkville’s new “beef boutique” was there to help. That’s not their official marketing moniker, but it fits. A boutique is defined as a small specialized business, and for the Sanders family - siblings Scott, Leslie, Will and mom Linda that business is beef. One day, says Scott Sanders, they want to be a “meat boutique.” They’ve already added pork from the other end of University Drive at Mississippi State, and hope to expand their options even further in the coming months. But the beef is the star, with seventeen different cuts of steak, four kinds of roasts, ground beef, brisket, even tongue and cheek. The Sanders family has been in the cattle business for a long time. More than once, David Sanders (the patriarch of the family) had considered the idea of opening a retail store to sell beef. After he passed away in early 2019, his kids took over the cattle sales business. Leslie and Will handle much of the retail side, while Scott deals with the cows. Scott is also an educator.
28 • August/September 2020
