Longtime paradise for meat lovers in Colorado Springs is closing: ‘It’s just time’
A longtime, beloved family business is closing its doors after being rocked by the loss of a loved one.
Andy’s Meat Market, where meat lovers can find everything from steaks and pork chops to rattlesnake and alligator brats, is set to close at the end of February after 70 years in business.
The decision to close follows the death of Karen Aibner — “the heart and soul” of Andy’s, said her son, Jonathan. She died in early December at age 66.
Jonathan Aibner, manager of Colorado Springs institution Andy’s Meat Market, talks to The Gazette’s Bill Radford. Aibner discusses the decision to close the family-owned business after 70 years in the wake of the death of his mother. (Video: Bill Radford)
Karen was the daughter-in-law of Andy Aibner, who founded the business in 1952. It was originally known as Farmers Market and started across and up the street a bit from its current location at 2915 E. Platte Ave.; it moved there after the first 10 years or so.
Karen was part of the family business even before she became part of the family; she was dating Andy’s son, Bob, when she started working at the store. She and Bob took over the business after Andy died in 1996. Bob has retired.
Jonathan, meanwhile, has worked at Andy’s since he was a kid; he’s now, at age 40, store manager and head meat cutter. He loved working with family, he said. Now, with his mom gone and his dad not part of the business, “it’s kind of taken the wind out of my sails.”
Andy’s Meat Market on Platte Avenue will close Feb. 26, 2022, after 70 years in Colorado Springs. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
The story is similar to that of another Colorado Springs institution, El Taco Rey. After 45 years, the family-owned Mexican restaurant closed in September after the death of matriarch Rosemary Aguilar. While the original plan was to reopen, the family announced this month that the doors would stay closed. It was a tough decision that came after “sleepless nights,” one family member said then.
Similarly, closing Andy’s is the toughest decision he’s ever had to make, Jonathan said. Business has been good, he said. If someone were to come along and buy the building along with all the equipment and keep it as a meat shop, he said, “they’re going to do awfully well, just as we have for 70 years.”
There have been challenges, he acknowledged. Staffing is one; Andy’s used to process wild game for hunters, but hasn’t done so for the last couple of years because of a lack of seasonal help. Fellow business owners, he said, have the same complaint about finding staff.
Fresh steaks are displayed under the counter at Andy’s Meat Market Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. The local meat market will close after 70 years Feb. 26, 2022. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
“There’s plenty of work to do out there, and not enough people willing to do it,” he said.
Jonathan isn’t sure of the next chapter for him.
“It’s just time,” he said of the decision to close. “Seventy years is a long time for a family to keep a business running. We’re awfully proud of that, but it’s time.”
David Perl is among loyal customers who are not ready for Andy’s to vanish, though. He has shopped at Andy’s for at least 15 years. Pork steaks, boneless rib-eyes, sausages and smoked ham shanks were among the meats that kept him coming back, he said via email.
“I’ll miss the old butcher shop ambience that reminds me of the independent meat shops my family used to do business with in Ohio,” he said. “I truly will miss the passing of another small, family-owned business. Big box grocery stores just don’t possess the intimacy and character that a business like Andy’s has.”
Jackie Fandry, one of seven employees, has worked at Andy’s for 32 years. She came aboard as a seasonal worker during hunting season — and never left.
She got to work with founder Andy for the first few years. “He’s one of the people who made me love this place,” she said. “He started this place, he was proud of it, and he made me proud to work here.”
Andy’s, she believes, has “the best meat in town” and sells things you won’t find at chain grocery stores; Andy’s, for example, is known for making most of its own sausages.
And, she said, “I have no idea where people are going to get their jerky anymore, because ours is famous. It’s been all over the world.”
Mike Wright, right, Austin McKay, left, and Lacie Clark fill orders behind the counter Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, at Andy’s Meat Market in Colorado Springs. The local meat market will close after 70 years on Feb. 26. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
