Hurdwell: The real deal

ARLINGTON — Hurdwell, in Arlington, sells beef, pork, lamb, chicken and bison raised locally without antibiotics or hormones. For real. "What people are seeking is what I'm selling and they think they are getting it from other places with creative marketing by the other places," said Katie Kramer, Hurdwell owner. "I mean, quite literally, we are the only retail counter selling locally-raised, locally-cut meat out of our retail case because it is very expensive to do it that way. … I don't know of a place in 60 miles." Hurdwell has eliminated the middleman, so its meats have no preservatives or additives other than the seasonings in some ground products. It means safer and healthier meats for its customers. "We know what feed those animals are getting. What kind of lives they lived. We know they are not getting antibiotics, hormones," Kramer said. "If they get sick and have to get antibiotics, then they just don't come to us. So people know what's in the meat. We don't have additives. We add nothing to it other than seasonings." Hurdwell's approach is "unheard of," Kramer said. "There's a line of — a graveyard — of places who have tried. We're just trying to figure out how to price it so as to not price ourselves out of the market," she said. "I just need to educate people about it somehow without trashing my competitors." She has found ways to diversify the business. "We do custom cutting for local livestock producers as well, which is a fee for service," Kramer said. "That's a nice revenue stream for us just when the retail sales ebb and flow with the weather, the season." Hurdwell also supplies meat for restaurants, including Fort 88 in Upper Sandusky, and it supplies beef patties to Alexandria's in Findlay. It also just took a step to consolidate operations, save expense and position itself for further growth by establishing its own kill floor to harvest cattle, hogs and lamb on site. Hurdwell had been buying carcasses from other suppliers. Not every kill floor does all species, so Hurdwell was having to use and travel to a variety of facilities, she said. It was like a circus, Kramer said. "Going, spending gas, labor. Going and picking up these carcasses. They're huge. They're super heavy. How to even get them in our facility," she said. "It was just a lot of running around." Doing the harvesting in-house gives Hurdwell more control over the entire process. "It's consolidation. It's labor savings," Kramer said. "It's quality control." It was not easy or cheap. Kramer worked for two years to set up the kill floor, which is expensive and heavily regulated. Fortunately, some state and federal grants — designed to fill gaps in supply chains — were available to help with the kill house's startup costs. The effort and expense will be worth it, she said. "We will definitely save money" doing the harvesting in-house. It also will enable Hurdwell to harvest for other retailers and livestock producers wanting to make sales at farmers' markets. It also positions Hurdwell for growth. Local roots Kramer and her husband have always been concerned about eating healthfully, she said. Her idea for Hurdwell started during the 2020 pandemic. "I was going to the (stores) I knew were locally-owned around here, trying to find, 'Was this actually raised around here?' and 'Do they know what's in it?'" she said. "Even locally-owned places doesn't mean it was locally raised." "I want label-free eating. I want you to come here and know there isn't hidden sugar. People who just want to eat healthier and just don't want to have to think so much," Kramer said. "I just want it to make it easier for people to be healthy and (know) that I'm not giving them any gimmicks, that I'm giving them what they need without having to read all of the fine print, if you will." Hurdwell has a team of four butchers, including Terry Kimmel, a third-generation butcher from Mount Blanchard. Kramer's father is Larry Crates, who along with his brothers, Jack and Charles, started the funeral home. She grew up in Arlington and is an Arlington High School graduate. "I just always thought this building, which is over 120 years old, could be really beautiful," she said. It did not always look so good. Over the years, it had been used for a variety of businesses, including a poultry operation, antique store and laundromat. It had been vacant for a number of years, and was in "deplorable" condition when she bought it. The construction company that she hired to renovate the building initially told her she was crazy, she said. She had it transformed inside and out. "My husband is from Findlay; he jokes a lot because everything here is in red and black (Arlington School's colors)," she said, laughing. She said her parents, Larry and Rindy Crates, have always been very giving, selfless people for the community. She wants to continue that tradition. She gets choked up talking about Hurdwell as her gift to Arlington. "For me, like, to give this" — she paused, and the seconds of silence were charged with emotion — "for sure, for sure." The name Hurdwell recalls Arlington's origins. Before it was called Arlington, the town was known as Hurdtown, for one of its founding members, Robert Hurd.