ABOUT US
40 Years in Business
After the original location of The Meating Place closed in 1998, Casey continued his path in the industry, honing his knowledge of all things meat as
well as developing a good skillset of business management and teambuilding.
Founding
Meating Place founder Steve Crossley, a second-generation butcher, offered jerky, sausage, smoked salmon and wild game processing on NW 185th from 1974–1998. Casey Miller was hired at The Meating Place as a sophomore in high school and learned the meat trade under Steve’s knowledgeable guidance. Steve and Casey’s relationship began as employer-employee, but quickly grew into a father-son bond, one that is still strong today.
New Beginnings
In 2011, Casey reopened The Meating Place as a small custom shop with two employees, open only a few months a year, processing wild game for hunters. Two years later, he opened the full-service Meating Place Butcher Shop and quickly followed this with opening of the Meating Place Café. Casey’s wife, Annie Miller, left her teaching career in the Hillsboro School District in 2013 to support The Meating Place and works behind the scenes (and computer screens) to help run the business successfully.
Today
In 2019, the Millers grew the single location into two, expanding into a 20,000 square foot megastore with room for a spacious cutting and processing area, a cold storage/aging room with space for 50 head of beef, a state-of-the-art packaging space plus a dedicated area for smoking and curing their high-demand products.
Today, The Meating Place offers inspection services for local farmers, allowing for a highly local approach to partnering with farmers and ranchers across the Willamette Valley.
At more than 60 employees, the business offers healthcare and retirement benefits so employees can earn a true living wage. The Meating Place has continued Steve Crossley’s legacy and become a valuable local business providing long-term employment to its staff and quality and humanely raised meat to the region.
Core Team Members
OWNER
Casey & Annie Miller
Casey worked at the original Meating Place in the ‘90s and reopened the business as a custom shop in 2011, followed by The Butcher Shop and Café in 2013. Annie left her career in education to help open and run the businesses in 2013, now handling bookkeeping, payroll and public relations. They both enjoy a good time on the pickleball court when they're not in the office or the Shop.
Butcher Shop General Manager
Colin Karp
Colin joined the team in 2019 as an experienced meat cutter and quickly moved into management with his knowledge of operations and team management. He handles all day-to-day operations, ordering and making sure the shop is running smoothly from an employee and customer perspective.
Office Manager
Sarah Kendrick-Kelly
Sarah joined the team in 2013 and has designed and built our office systems, so we are as efficient as possible! Sarah is a critical team member, behind-the-scenes creator and operator and she loves a spreadsheet!
Café Manager
Clyde Fulkerson
Clyde has led The Meating Place Café with his management skills and direction since 2021. Our cafe is clean, efficient and a well-run restaurant because of Clyde!
Custom Shop Manager
Marena Gray
Marena began working for The Meating Place in 2014. With her sharp knife skills, she transitioned to running the custom shop at The Meating Place since 2021.
Head Sausage Maker
Zach Johnson
Zach is in charge of sausage making and production and has been with the team since 2014. He has extensive knowledge of both custom and retail sausages and handles quality control for all our smoked products, including jerky, pepperoni, summer sausage and more.
ODA Coordinator and Quality Controller
Austin Bryant
Austin has been with The Meating Place since 2014 and manages both packaging and production operations. Austin is also our Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) coordinator, ensuring our facility is compliant with all FDA food safety standards from production to plate.
Farm Operator
Andrew Turner
Andrew joined our team as a conscientious mobile slaughterer in 2013. In 2022, Andrew leased farmland in Forest Grove and started raising his own herd under his Top Valley brand, designing a stringent feeding process to help grow the best beef possible. This beef is now sold under the brand Meating Right at The Meating Place.