The Family Legacy Continues with Reopening of Opell Meats
Deidra Bowling-Meade
The Ashland Beacon
The grand reopening of Opell Meats, one of Boyd County’s staple butcher shops, will occur Tuesday, May 2. The shop will now be run by the third generation from the Opell family with Laura Opell Maggard and her husband Brad Maggard. Laura Opell Maggard is the youngest granddaughter of Bill Opell who started the business in 1969.
Bill Opell opened up Opell Meats with his brother to offer local farmers a place to bring their cattle and hogs for custom processing. The business steadily grew and became a place where farmers could sell their livestock to be processed into products that could be sold at restaurants or sent to other processing facilities. Once he retired, Steve and Lola Esenbock, who are Laura Maggard’s aunt and uncle, took over the business until spring 2022. They worked the business under the name Bear Creek Meats. Now, Maggard will bring back the beloved Opell Meats name with the same wonderful family service.
Maggard shared, “After months and months of being in prayer on what to do, I finally made the decision to approach my grandfather about reopening Opell Meats. He couldn't have been more excited, so the adventure began. We have been at it since the beginning of the year creating a business plan, making renovations, and finding workers. Reopening Opell Meats had been on my mind since my aunt and uncle told us they would be retiring. It had been in the family for years and was a community staple so, the idea of it never being open again just didn't feel right.”
Opell Meats is a family legacy that Maggard grew up around since she was a teenager. Maggard’s history with the business as well as her educational background give her the perfect foundation for leading the family business. Maggard has been serving the agriculture community for over eight years as a County Extension Agent. Maggard remarked, “I started helping in the shop during deer season in high school and worked there most weekends during college and weekends after moving home from college for a while. My bachelor’s and master’s degrees are in agriculture so, working with local farmers is something that I look forward to continuing even after I leave the Extension to run the butcher shop full time.”
Laura and Brad Maggard have a small cow/calf operation in Boyd County. Brad is the Fire Marshal for the City of Ashland. He will be behind the scenes at the butcher shop doing mostly maintenance and repairs. Laura will be behind the counter, slicing meat, wrapping, and making sure all the daily operations run smoothly. The Maggard’s have two girls, Caroline and Evie, who you might see assisting with stamping the meat and putting away packages.
Maggard commented, “We have a great team of folks who will be working in the shop. We will have most of the same items that were offered before, and we will have a few new items as well. The feedback we have received from the community has been overwhelming. We are blessed with great customers, and we look forward to providing safe quality products to them.”
Come visit Opell Meats where you are sure to be provided top notch customer service with quality products. Deli meats, cheese, fresh and frozen beef, fresh and frozen pork, frozen chicken, frozen seafood, frozen school pizza, fries, chicken nuggets and more will be available to purchase. Cash, check, debit, and credit cards will be accepted. Opell Meats is located at 22515 Bear Creek Road in Catlettsburg. Business hours will be Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m-5 p.m. Make sure to like them on Facebook to keep up to date on sales, specials, and other news. You may also contact them by phone: 606.254.4950.