Doon Elevator

Curt Van Grouw cuts beef at the Old Parlor Meat Company near Rock Valley.

Serving and Growing with the Ag Industry for Over 60 Years

712-726-3215 | 712-726-3361 301 Gere Ave, Doon, IA

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

Curt’s wife, Emily, is a native of the Chicago suburbs. “So this is a whole new world to me in general. You can say I’ve learned a lot in the last four years.” She works full-time as a nurse at the family clinic at Hegg Memorial Health Center in Rock Valley. She originally moved from Chicago to Sioux Falls and worked at Sanford Health. Curt said, “She moved to Sioux Falls to be closer to her sister who was playing volleyball at Dordt. Again, the Lord had his hand in every step of that.” Emily didn’t know Curt was formulating a plan to become a butcher. “I can honestly say when we were dating I don't remember hearing about this dream until right after we got married. I was shocked at first that's for sure.” Curt said jokingly, “I locked her up before I dropped it on her.” “But he's ran with it ever since and I couldn't be more proud,” she said. “My parents are very much city people themselves. So it's a different lifestyle here, for sure. But they’ve visited and seen it all and they approve.” Curt and Emily got married in 2019 and live in Hull. Their son, Waylon, just turned 2; and another child is due to arrive in December. At the end of the day, Curt leaves his work phone at the shop so that he’s not distracted and when he gets home, it’s family time. “If we lived here onsite, I know how I’d be sneaking out here a little bit after the kids are in bed. This way, I get a nice break,” he said. “Growing up in a Christian family, my parents always set a good example on living a good life and letting people see God through how you interact with them. In the dairy, my dad was a great role model for me as a man and a father and business owner,” Curt said. “Maybe how we interact with our customers and others will have an impact on their life, maybe not. But I am conscious of trying to make a positive impact and hopefully they can see Christ in the way that we act. Also, it’s important to us to be good stewards of the livestock God entrusts us with. The animals are a gift we’re given.”

LOOKING AHEAD

“I feel like we've survived the initial challenges of the business start-up process. I am putting together future plans,” he said. “Actually, in the next few weeks, I’ll get the ok from the state to start selling some retail meat. I'll be buying inspected meat from distributors and cutting that into steaks and roasts and ground products and just see where it goes. I can’t sell anything I slaughtered myself since I'm not a USDA inspected plant.” In the long term, he’s got room to renovate/expand and maybe add a little retail store and more processing room. He’s looking to add further processing and specialty type products in the future. He’s looking forward to a partnership with Dordt University and setting up an internship program.