BRIGHTON – The Brighton Meat Locker has been remodeled, with a new retail outlet inside to sell local meat and cooking accessories.

The business is located at 205 E. Washington St. in Brighton, and was purchased by a group of new owners two years ago: Jake Louth, Dan Delaney and Adam Ledger, all of whom happen to be beef producers and members of Jefferson County Cattlemen.

Louth said he, Delaney and Ledger bought the Brighton Meat Locker because they wanted an outlet to sell local beef. The Brighton Meat Locker was founded in 1970, and when the three new owners acquired it, Louth said the west side of the building was not part of the locker.

“Before, it was a derelict building,” Louth said about the west side of the building. “This part was pretty much condemned and in extremely rough shape.”

They had to put a new roof on it, and turned it into a showroom that opened in April of this year.

In addition to remodeling the interior, they started a boxed-beef product line called 1Meats so they can sell beef to consumers directly. In the showroom, the business sells Red X Knives (from a veteran in Des Moines), local barbecue sauces, Epic Eateries’ seasonings and other grilling supplies.

“We wanted to create a one-stop shop so you could stop here, pick up some meat and wood pellets for your grill, and then head to Lake Darling,” he said.

Justin Engwall, also a member of Jefferson County Cattlemen, is supplying the locker with dirt-raised pork (not from a confinement), and also supplies the pork for the 1Meats company.

Louth said the retail showroom has gone over well with the public, and has attracted more people to the locker who would not have visited otherwise.

“We have a lot more retail products, plus we also sell YETI products like coolers, and cups” Louth said.

The Brighton Meat Locker is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays in the summer from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Louth’s wife, Kirya, manages the facility, and the business has nine other employees who work on the locker side.