08/15/2026
Five years ago today, August 15, 2021, we took in our first wild game animals at Chug Springs Butchery.
Looking back, we still sometimes wonder how we pulled it off.
We broke ground in January 2021. A few people helped along the way, but most of the work, about 75%, was done by Alex, his brother David, and our family, often with Alex working alone.
By August 15, we were “ready” to start taking animals… though that might be generous. 😂 Construction was still ongoing. We had a sink but no faucet, an unfinished entryway, and only the bare minimum of equipment.
But we started anyway.
And we figured it out as we went.
But perhaps the part that hits us most when we look back is this: our family grew up inside this business.
Our kids were 8, 9, 11, 11, 13, and 14 when we started. They’re now 13, 15, 16, 16, 18, and 19. They’ve spent much of their childhood here. Watching it grow, working in it, helping when they didn’t want to, and sacrificing alongside us.
This business has asked a lot from our family, but it has given us a lot too. It’s taught us to work, adapt, sacrifice, and keep going when things don’t go as planned.
And through it all, we’ve watched God answer prayers more times than we can count. There have been moments when things looked hopeless and we couldn’t see how we were going to make it work, and somehow God answered our prayers right when we needed it most.
These five and a half years haven’t been easy, but they’ve been full of grace and lessons.
And when we look back at that unfinished little butcher shop, with a sink and no faucet and compare it to today…
We’re incredibly proud of how far we’ve come. ❤️
