Remember the days of friendly neighborhood grocery stores, run by local families that greeted their customers with smiles at the door and quality service? That’s exactly what you’ll experience when visiting Bessey’s Meat Market and Bulk Foods in Rhinelander.

Glenn Bessey is the proprietor here, and since his boyhood he has been greeting customers when they visit this establishment that used to be run by his parents, Roy and Kate. The couple opened Bessey’s and ran it from 1967 to 1985. Then the family decided to reopen it again in 2008, and Glenn is once again either behind the meat case or helping customers choose what to have for dinner.

And there is a lot to choose from, especially when looking over the selections of meat including sausage, beef jerky and more. In fact, Glenn is such a master at making summer sausage, jerky and snack sticks that he is adding another smoker to the two he already has in operation. He has more than 35 brat flavors on hand including a Packer brat that features peppers and cheese. Glenn will also process deboned venison and custom cut whole and half hogs or beef sides. In addition, fresh, unfrozen turkeys can be ordered for those special holiday meals or celebrations.

The meat here is very fresh, and includes steaks of every cut, ribs, pork chops, bacon, hamburger and roasts, to name a few. In addition, Glenn creates some delicious combinations such as chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and stuffed with asparagus and cheese. There are kabobs prepared to grill and stuffed green peppers ready for the oven. Another great advantage of shopping at Bessey’s is that Glenn is more than happy to custom cut any meat offered and customers can buy one pork chop or 20 if they wish.

In addition to all the meat products offered, Bessey’s is also famous for their selection of homemade noodles, which come in a myriad of flavors, two of which are the popular chili-jalape’o and artichoke spinach. This pasta comes in a variety of cuts from thin to wide. The bulk snack section is also popular, and pretzels, caramel corn and crackers are favorites.

Bessey’s has a large frozen section too, including fish, shrimp, crab legs, pizza and brats. A wide range of dairy products are offered and fresh produce is also on hand. In fact, some of the produce offered is grown by Roy, who still comes to work a few times a week to give Glenn a hand when he isn’t busy in his four-acre garden.

Fresh bakery is also offered, that includes delicious buns to compliment the hamburgers and brats sold here and coffee cake and donuts are also baked fresh every day. There is a large selection of Jake and Amos pickled products, including eggs, beets and Brussels sprouts. Bulk seasonings are popular and compliment well the many bottles of seasoned oils on hand. Locally grown honey and maple syrup is also offered. And Bessey’s sports one of the largest selections of Bletsoe cheese varieties in the area.

Bessey’s is located at 1102 S. Onieda Ave. in Rhinelander, and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Starting Dec. 1 the hours will be 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information, call (715) 362-5600, visit besseysmeatmarket.com, or email besseysmeatmarket@frontiernet.net.