Zac and Kate Walters are excited to be new business owners in Blue Earth.

Sometimes, things just work out for people when they are not really expecting it.

It certainly did for Zac and Kate Walters.

The young couple had been trying to find some land in the Amboy area to purchase so they could open a new butcher shop business.

“It was taking a long time to find the right fit,” Zac says. “And, then this happened.”

The ‘this’ he is referring to is The Blue Earth Locker.

“Through a mutual acquaintance, Scott Lyons, who owned the locker here in Blue Earth, became aware I was looking to start my own custom butchering business,” Zac explains. “That was in February of this year.”

By July 1, the Walters were the new owners of The Blue Earth Locker.

“Scott was ready to retire,” Zac shares. “Things just fell into place.”

Zac and Kate reside just north of Amboy where they are raising their three children, twin five year old girls and a two year old boy.

Prior to purchasing the locker, Zac had been employed by Protein Sources Milling in Mapleton as a nursery supervisor for seven years. Before that he worked on a sow farm for seven years.

“I had been butchering hogs at my farm and the idea of owning a butcher shop intrigued me,” he mentions.

He took online classes on locker management through South Dakota State.

“I did spend one week in South Dakota and Wyoming getting some hands-on experience,” Zac says. “Now, I am here, in Blue Earth, almost every day.”

Kate usually spends one day a week at the store in Blue Earth.

“I am still a full-time accountant for The Tailwind Group which is a real estate company,” she comments. “But, I do try and get down here when I can.”

When they were looking to build a new shop, they felt Amboy would be a good location.

“The butcher shop in Vernon Center had burned down and it left a hole in that area where there was no locker,” Zac explains.

Now, with the purchase of the Blue Earth Locker, the Walters are owners of a locker which is almost twice the size of other meat lockers in the area.

“Kate was actually the one who encouraged me to purchase the business here in Blue Earth,” Zac says. “It took a great amount of time to finalize the deal, which we fully expected. There was a whole lot of paperwork to get through and working with the bank takes time. We also had to be inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Thankfully, we are past the worse part of those things.”

The couple says they do not have any remodeling plans in store for the business.

“We freshened up the place a little and did some painting,” Zac comments. “Scott had updated the coolers a few years ago so the place is in pretty good shape.”

However, the couple did decide to make one notable change.

“We are no longer closed during the noon hour,” Zac says. “We are here anyway so we figured we might as well stay open.”

They are also not planning any vacations in the near future.

“Right now the focus is on the business – not time off,” Kate adds.

There is probably more going on at the Blue Earth Locker than many people realize.

“We do the smoking and the curing of meat for the locker plant in Armstrong, Iowa,” Zac comments. “We supply the Ribeye steaks for the Farmer’s Daughters Kitchen restaurant and the meat for the Golden Spike Speedway here in Blue Earth and we are also making all of the hamburger for Average Jo’s Bar and Grill.”

While beef and pork are the most commonly processed meats at the locker, the couple says lambs are regularly brought to the locker and goats and elk are also processed.

“And, with hunting season around the corner, we will also be handling a lot of deer meat,” Zac says.

According to Zac, the Blue Earth Locker takes animals in for processing from about a 60 mile radius from the plant.

But don’t expect to call and make an appointment for any butchering to be done in the near future.

“We are booked into December for butchering hogs and into January of next year for processing beef,” Zac states. “We can handle 10 or 11 beef and eight to 10 pigs per week.”

To accomplish all of the work required at the meat locker, the Walters employ seven full-time and two part-time workers.

“That does not include us,” Kate explains.

The couple hopes to expand on the wide variety of products which the store already markets.

“We want to offer more deli-style fresh meats,” Kate offers. “We would also like to add fresh-cut bacon to our product line and have some different ‘Flavor of the Month’ specials. Ground beef remains our biggest seller.”

Zac and Kate also hope to expand their customer base.

“We have had someone from Silver Bay buy meat here but we want to bring more area people into our store,” Kate explains.

One thing the new owners have been pleased with is the treatment they have received since taking over in July.

“The city of Blue Earth, the farmers, the county and the community have all been very welcoming,” Zac says. “We feel very fortunate to be here.”

The Blue Earth Locker is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon. Their phone number is 507-526-3915.

The P Pod will also continue to operate out of the parking lot at the Blue Earth Locker.