Today was the first warm Saturday morning in the Chicago area in two weeks -- a welcome change after days of gloomy, cold weather, and a perfect occasion for unveiling our product to excited shoppers in a new store. It's 10:30 am on April 21, and the Tallgrass team -- today consisting of Bill Kurtis, Marc DeMoss (myself), and John Gianforte (owner of Annie's Brands, our distributor)-- arrives at the Family Foods supermarket location in Warrenville, IL.
On his way through the store back to the meat counter, Bill encounters fans who remember him from his days as a news anchor at Channel 2. First, a cashier: "Bill, I knew you were coming, and please let me give you a kiss" (one on the cheek, that is). Farther down the aisle, a shopper looks up from her grocery cart to tell Bill that she misses seeing him on "the real news," referring to Channel 2 News that Bill anchored with Walter Jacobson. Everybody knows Bill.
Arriving finally at the meat counter, Bill greets customers who are eager to try samples of Tallgrass Beef hamburger. "Well it's grass-fed," he says as a customer remarks that it's lean yet juicy. He goes on to tell his memories of being in the same town when he first came to Chicago from Kansas, in the 1960's. It was nothing like the developed commercial area we're in now. "Amazing how Warrenville has changed," he says. Meanwhile, John brings out more samples, while Marc talks to other customers who are waiting to meet Bill.
An hour later, the team gets in the car to head to the other Family Foods location. It's in Carol Stream, IL, a 20-minute drive.
The car pulls into the parking lot at the Carol Stream Family Foods store at 12:30. "We've been waiting for you," says the store manager as Bill walks in. Heading back to the meat counter here, a crowd of almost 20 people has gathered around the meat coolers. They've all been wating to meet Bill and to hear about Tallgrass Beef. The section of Tallgrass Beef in the meat case is almost empty, so while the staff is grinding more burger and cutting more strip steaks, John and Marc are keeping tabs of who's waiting for which products, and stocking the coolers as more meat comes out on aluminum trays from the back.
An hour later, after many samples served and many stories told, the team packs it up and calls it a successful event. "It's so great to tell our story to these people," Bill tells me as we walk out. To that, I said "yes, you always see something click when you're telling the story of grass-fed beef and they get it. But these customers lit up because they got to meet Bill Kurtis."
Special thanks to the employees of both Family Foods locations for doing a great job planning and publicizing our event, and for their fantastic hospitality.
-Marc DeMoss, Tallgrass Beef
