BELTON, Texas — This year marks four years for Cheezy’s Meat Market in Belton. The owner, Kevin “Cheezy” Stewart, worked in the meat industry for years.
Opening a store in his hometown was his dream.
“This past year was terrible. I pretty much lost everything I made the first two years,” Cheezy said.
Cheezy posted to social media earlier this month, "2023 really hurt and this year’s not looking much better."
Even saying, “If things don’t change in a hurry we will be shutting the doors sometime in May.”
“That’s the saddest part about it. I feel like he’s put blood, sweat and tears literally into it. It’s really sad to watch,” Cheezy’s daughter Chelsea Miller said.
Cheezy said when they opened during the middle of the pandemic business was booming, but inflation and high food prices are crippling his store.
“Before the pandemic you can buy fresh ground hamburgers for just about $3.99 a pound. Now we’re getting $5.99 a pound and we don’t even make a dollar a pound,” Cheezy said.
Natural disasters like the recent Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Panhandle are also playing a factor.
“The fire killed a lot of cattle. It’s really short in the numbers of cattle supply for the entire United States,” Cheezy said.
Right in front of his store, all the construction along Loop 121 isn’t helping either.
“I have customers for a long time, so they just avoid that area. It’s just a nightmare to go over there. People drive down the wrong lane or sitting at the wrong spot at the intersection. When school lets out traffic is backed up from red light to red light,” Cheezy said.
He said he is using his salary to pay labor and taxes for the business on top of paying his own bills. His daughter, Chelsea Miller, tries to help her father when she can.
“If we can have anybody’s support even if you buy a piece of beef jerky we would appreciate it,” Miller said.
Cheezy said that if things don’t turn around, they plan to shut down temporarily. They’re hoping a few months after, the economy will get better and they can reopen at a different location.
