Minder Meats

Minder Meats, a meat market in Bremerton, was first opened in Kitsap County in 1943 during World War II. It has gone through four generations of family management, with James Minder Carlson as the current owner. He explains that it was his Swiss great-grandfather who founded their family business.

After immigrating to the United States, his great-grandfather had a meat market in Montana. His son — Carlson’s grandfather — created Minder Meats after that. They raised cattle and sold the meat to the U.S. Navy. Additionally, Carlson’s grandfather founded the Silverdale Co-Op, along with Minder Farm. Carlson grew up visiting that farm and his family.

“I was always kind of in the grocery business right from the beginning and the meat business,” Carlson says. “I carried groceries, and then I learned how to clean up the meat-cutting rooms. That’s how you get hooked. You start by doing that, and then one thing leads to another. My grandfather taught me how to cut meat.”

Later in life, Carlson’s grandfather proffered the ownership of Minder Meats to Carlson. Carlson accepted. At that time, Minder Meats focused on selling wholesale to restaurants and such. In fact, they still have approximately 125 wholesale customers. There was a shift during COVID-19, though.

“We had to completely pivot,” Carlson explains. Restaurants had to temporarily close down, so many of Minder Meats’ wholesale customers did not need to purchase meat. “We didn’t think we were going to make it, because all our restaurants [that we sold to] closed,” Carlson recounts.

However, unexpected customers showed up at Minder Meats. “People started coming, knocking at our door. We were closed, and people were lining up outside to get ground beef,” he says. “There was a shortage, and we had lots and lots of meat, like thousands of pounds. We were going to have to freeze it. We started selling to the public and it took off … for a whole year. We started putting together freezer packages and barbecue packages. That’s what we have to offer today. … Our retail business has thrived.”

Customers can currently buy products from Minder Meats as individuals or as businesses. The store has added seafood from Valhalla Seafood, as well as selling burgers, bacon, brisket, roasts, bone-in steaks, ground meat, ham, ribeye, jerky and much more. Some of the meat is aged on site and cut to order.

Several of Minder Meats’ products resonate with upcoming holiday season. Carlson recommends prime rib, turkey, king crab legs and pork crown roasts for Christmas and such.

“There’s probably five or six thousand turkeys that go through here. It’s pretty cool. … And then prime rib is our big thing (for the holidays),” he says. “We have a lot of people that only come here once a year, lots of people.”

The prime rib requires preordering, but Minder Meats often puts together food and beverages for their clients who come on selling-day for their prime rib orders. It’s an annual to-do for the company.

Customers can, of course, buy products not just for themselves. Minder Meats can be the one-stop-shop for Christmas dinner as well as the place to gift shop for friends and family. “People are giving away more food than they ever have” as gifts, Carlson says. Minder Meats is a wonderful option for Christmas dinner for your family or for giving a loved one a delicious gift.