Turkeys fly off shelves at local meat markets

As dozens of people picked through the shelves of spices at Egger Meats North market, free smoked meat sample in one hand and ticket order in the other, Alan Roberts waited to pick up a fresh turkey Tuesday, like he has every Thanksgiving for more than a decade.

Roberts said his wife orders the turkey a month in advance to make sure their name is on the Egger’s list as the holiday season rolls around, and they pick it up a few days before Thanksgiving so it’s fresh. He said they always order a local turkey that’s never been frozen, because he can taste the difference.

“They’re just really good turkeys,” he said.

Greg Traband, who co-owns Egger Meats North at 902 W. Rosewood Ave., said the business sells around 600 turkeys and 600 pounds of stuffing in the three days before Thanksgiving. He said the business is normally closed Mondays, but they opened this Monday to ensure they were ready for the holiday rush.

Clyde Sonnenberg, owner of Sonnenberg’s Market & Deli, 1528 E. Sprague Ave., said his business also was poised to make about 600 sales in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. He said he has a hard time competing with the price of frozen turkeys at local chain grocery stores, but his market has very loyal customers who have been coming back and purchasing meat for years.

He said about 60 percent of their turkeys, which are purchased from turkey farms in Minnesota, were already sold by Tuesday afternoon. Some customers have also opted out of buying a turkey for Thanksgiving, he said, and instead buy prime rib or hams.

Traband said at Egger, the line of people rushing to buy meat before the holiday sometimes stretches across the entire store.

He said most people preorder turkeys, and a few weight categories were already sold out.

Jeremy Bunney, who ordered three days in advance, purchased a smoked turkey for his fire station’s Thanksgiving. Bunney, who is a lieutenant at Fire Station 93, said the firefighters who work the holidays usually make a Thanksgiving meal and watch football while waiting for calls.

He said he normally isn’t the one to take the lead on planning Thanksgiving at the fire station, but after being promoted, he thought it would be easier if he picked up a smoked bird for everyone to enjoy.

He said he was originally planning to deep-fry the turkey but thought that might be too time-consuming and greasy, so he opted for a smoked turkey and a pie for the station’s Thanksgiving. He said holiday shifts usually cycle over three years and this year, he’s scheduled to work all the major holidays.

“There’s got to be somebody there, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “You get used to it, and your family adjusts.”