When Copper Cliff resident Shawn Scott has a beef, he … turns it into jerky?
Scott is the city's first fully licensed purveyor of jerky. It's a business that's been a few years in the making, but started coming together over the past five months, he said.
This weekend, Scott is focusing his energy on his new venture: beef jerky. Local Jerky Plus is Greater Sudbury's first business dedicated to the popular snack, and Scott is hoping the rest of Sudbury is as excited about it as he is.
It has taken almost four years – and plenty of burned meat -- but Scott said he's now at a point where he's confident Sudburians will like his beef jerky.
“I don't want to bite off more jerky than I can chew, but I really want this for my children,” he said. “I'm a young entrepreneur, and I like trying new things.”
Scott is perhaps best known for organizing the annual fundraiser, Fishing for a Cure in Memory of Noah event, which he continues to host each year. This year marked his sixth derby, and he was inspired to organize it after hearing about the struggles of Noah Borgogelli, 4, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid Leukemia.
But Scott has also been working non-stop for the past five months to prepare his home for his new business. He received the green light from Public Health Sudbury and Districts a few weeks ago, and he has a business licence from the City of Greater Sudbury.
“The health unit was unbelievable,” he said. “They did a lot of work for me, and there was a lot of research they had to do because there is no other business like this in the city. I have to follow a lot of rules and regulations in order to be compliant.”
All of his beef comes from Triple Star Acres in Blezard Valley, so it's all natural, grass-fed local beef that goes into this product. Scott said he's been approached by several local businesses interested in selling his product.
Scott is hosting his grand opening on Sept. 14 – in conjunction with his Jerky Fest 2019 – from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Copper Cliff park. There will be other vendors, a car show, live music and fun for the entire family.
He has partnered with Thornloe Cheese and will offer cones of cheese curds and beef jerky. He said he met representatives from Thornloe Cheese at Poutinefest a few weeks ago, and they were very eager to partner with him.
He won't be selling packaged product this weekend, because he's still waiting for the packaging to come in.
True to his nature, Scott will be donating 10 per cent of all proceeds from his business to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer.
Eventually, the plan is to move the business out of his home and into a downtown location, he said. He is also working on a recipe for soy jerky for vegetarians and vegans.
“It's one step at a time right now,” he said. “I want to see how this goes, but it looks like it's going to explode.”
