JONES Market c

How long have you been in business?

Jones Dairy Farm started in Fort Atkinson, WI over 130 years ago. The Jones Market, our company store, originally opened over 85 years ago.

How did you get started?

The store was originally a local destination to sell fresh pork and Jones Dairy Farm products to the community. Then, it also became an outlet for the main Jones Dairy Farm processing plant to sell the “seconds”, or imperfect product.

What changes have you seen over the years open?

The company store opened over 85 years ago and has seen many changes through the generations. The most impactful change was a complete remodel and grand re-opening in 2016. The store grew to be 4 times larger, which allowed Jones to expand the deli case with exclusive products made in-house. In addition, we continue to offer our product seconds, along with Jones Dairy Farm retail and food service products. We also carry local, family-owned business products made from across the state of Wisconsin.

What do you most love about your Industry?

We love getting to talk to customers in-store and interact with them to make sure they are getting a product that they will love. We also love working with our restaurant customers who use our product and love it as much as we do!

What are some of the common myths you come across in your business?

A common misconception about our business is that although we are named Jones Dairy Farm, we are not an operating dairy farm anymore. When the Jones family originally settled here, they started as a dairy farm. In the late 1800s when our founder, Milo C. Jones, got arthritis and could not do the physical labor that the family farm required, he began to make sausage and sell it under the Jones Dairy Farm name. They eventually sold the dairy, and the family chose to solely focus on continuing production of pork. The name is a symbol of where we started, and it is what our loyal customers are familiar with and know best.

What message would you most like to share with people?

One message that has been a constant in our business for many years is that all our products are gluten free, and that we use simple ingredients. Our original sausage recipe only has three ingredients: pork, salt and spices. We use this recipe as a baseline for all of our sausage products, as we try to stay true to what our ancestors started!

What would you like people to know about your business?

Something that people may not know if they haven’t visited us before is that we serve lunch and have an ice cream parlor. We have a rotating lunch menu as the seasons change that is served each day that we’re open from 11a.m. – 2p.m. We also serve Cedar Crest Ice Cream in our ice cream parlor and have a walkup ice cream window from the bike trail in the spring and summer seasons.

What is the biggest compliment customers give you?

Our customers are always praising our exceptional customer service in store and over the phone. We are always looking to help you with any need you may have, whether that’s a product you are looking for or a question about an upcoming event! We also, of course, get complimented on our delicious bacon!

What are you most proud of?

We are proud of the events that we’ve been able to start and develop over the past six years, new and old. We try to have a mix of events throughout the year that are targeted at kids, adults or both! We are proud to see how far these events have come, and love seeing families come back year after year. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for one that might interest you!

How many employees/families work with you?

There are currently 13 employees here at the Jones Market, while the main Jones Dairy Farm office and processing plant employs over 400 workers.

What are you most grateful for?

We are most grateful to our community and surrounding area businesses that support our company store. We are also grateful for the many vendors that trust us to market and grow their business by selling their products in our store!

Who/what can you credit your success?

We credit our success to our Jones family ancestors who started this business and invented the sausage recipe that we still use today. Without that strong beginning, we would not be the business we are today that our community knows and loves.

Jones Market

601 Jones Ave.

Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 920-563-2963 www.ShopJonesMarket.com