Sparks, who grew up in New Carlisle, said that he always knew he wanted to be in the beef industry from his early experience in FFA, 4-H and raising dairy feeders for the Clark County Fair to working for a cattle company.
“It was always a niche that I knew I loved to do," Sparks said.
About five years ago, he began selling freezer beef and educating individuals on the meats that they are eating - while working a full-time job. He said that this year he began to focus on growing his business and has sold freezer beef to customers locally as well as in northern Ohio, Indiana and Georgia.
He explained that he recently quit his full-time job to further his business.
The retail store was not planned, Sparks said but it was one of his goals. He added that his father-in-law, Scott Connor has helped him “quite a bit” to get to where he wanted to be with his business.
Sparks Meats, the retail store for Sparks Cattle & Freezer Beef, will open at 9 a.m. Saturday. He said depending on business, they might be open on Sunday too.
The meat market will have fresh-cut meats including beef, chicken and pork, as well as frozen meats. Special cuts include steaks, ground beef, hamburger patties, ribs, brisket, chuck roast, chicken wings, smoked bacon, brats, sausage links and pork chops.
Sparks said that his motto is “to not try to get rich off of one animal, but try to sell quality and move quantity.”
“You know what you’re getting (at Sparks Meats)," Sparks said. “There’s no question of what it is or where it is from. There’s a lot of meat in the United States that is imported and exported.”
The meat sold at Sparks Meats is homegrown with no hormones and no steroids, Sparks said.
Sparks Meats will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, search for Sparks Cattle & Freezer Beef on Facebook.
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