It’s possible to pop in and out of Hank Dekoning Limited with a package of fresh local meat tucked under your arm. But most customers don’t want to.

Instead, they like to stick around, trading jokes and stories with Murry, Rita and the gang. The DeKonings are always eager to catch up with their regular patrons, who’ve come to feel more like friends.

It’s been that way for 65 years, says Murry, whose parents, Hank and Susan, opened the butcher shop and meat packers on Highway 6 north of Port Dover in 1955.

“We’re celebrating 65 successful years in business – second and third generation,” Murry said. “We’ve been here a long time, and we hope to be here another 65 years.”

The business has expanded several times over the decades, adding a full-service restaurant and enlarging the busy abattoir and storefront. The DeKonings are proud of providing jobs for local residents and helping smaller, local meat producers market their products by stocking them in the store.

“Some of our suppliers we’ve dealt with for over 55 years,” Murry said.

The shop supplies fresh meat to restaurants and institutions like nursing homes. “But our main customers are right here,” Murry said, gesturing to the shoppers browsing a long row of glass counters.

Whether they’re buying meat by the pound or just a few sausages for dinner, the DeKoning family’s main goal is to take care of their customers.

“Our strong point here has always been quality product, quality price and top-notch service,” Murry said.

That, he said, makes the difference between a great shop and a forgotten one.

“The stronghold of most businesses is their service,” said Murry. He credits his father for demonstrating the values of honesty and integrity that continue to guide the family today.

Murry freely admits that he can’t always match big box stores on price, but he says he can outshine his competitors when it comes to friendly, knowledgeable service.

“Treat people fairly and respectfully – that’s got us through some lean times,” he said.

Drive past DeKoning’s around mealtime and it’s a safe bet the owners of most of the cars in the lot are sitting inside the restaurant, which began decades ago as a snack and coffee counter for drivers waiting to have their frozen meat orders filled.

“Through my mother’s good cooking and abundantly plattered meals, it kind of took off,” said Murry, who can often be found at a table, chatting with customers over a cup of coffee.

When the Stelco steel factory in Nanticoke was at its height and hundreds of people worked at the OPG power generating station, the lineup at the restaurant would be out the door, he recalled.

Owning a business is far more than a job, Murry said. It’s become a lifestyle for the entire family.

“This is our social circle. We work here, we damn well sleep here,” he chuckled.

“So if people want to come see me, they know they should come see me at the shop.”

The devoutly Christian couple resisted the temptation to open the store on Sundays, deciding early on to set aside that day for churchgoing and family time.

“Our workers need a break, too,” Murry said of his roughly 25 employees. “They’re not just our workers; they become our friends.”

by J.P. Antonacci Norfolk News