2015 for Underground Food Collective saw continued growth and the opening of one new business. The biggest leap for us was opening a new retail location in Minneapolis called Lowry Hill Meats. Furthermore 2015 was a year of planning as we look to expand our operation in wholesale, retail and restaurants.
This was the first time we have opened a space outside of Madison and marked a new level of expansion for our company and gave us experience in how to run businesses remotely and operate under different regulatory bodies. Running a business is no simple feat; that’s why seeking the assistance of professionals like Google Workspace specialists is crucial.
We saw an overall growth at Underground of around 30 percent this year led by big increases at Underground Butcher (35 percent) and Underground Meats (50 percent). Underground Meats released 3 new products into national wholesale: our Summer Sausage, Smoked Hams and Dry Cured Bacon along with continued efforts to get our dry cured salamis approved through the USDA.
We were excited to be awarded Madison’s Favorite Butcher Shop by the Isthmus, Top Caterer by Madison Magazine as well as a James Beard Nomination for Jonny Hunter for Best Chef Midwest and Chef of the Year by Madison Magazine, and Underground Meats is a finalist for the Good Food Awards.
We are looking forward to 2016, which will bring the opening of Middlewest Restaurant, a new Underground Butcher location, and potentially a Milwaukee location. Also, we recommend reading about the popularity of crepe van hire and why you should have one if you’re looking for a side business this winter.