History

History 1951 - 2005

Harry Witteveen, the founder of Witteveen Meats, arrived in Canada in 1948. Harry emigrated from a farm in Holland (Friesland) to Brantford, Ontario. Upon his arrival Harry began his career in the meat business working for a local butcher. With the assistance of his employer, Harry opened his own meat store in 1951 called the St. George Abattoir.

In the early 50's all products were sold at the Brantford market. Slaughtering and custom cuts were done and prepared on highway 24 (St. George Abattoir). As business grew so did the abattoir. In 1961 new coolers and a large freezer was added to accommodate the demand for products. Harry took pride in buying only the best cattle. He often bought prize winning beef from the Royal Winter Fair and other stockyards.

Harry's two sons, Victor and Douglas grew up working in the business. In 1976 Witteveen Meats became a limited company and they all became business partners. Further expansion took place, with the addition of a new slaughterhouse and more coolers and freezers.

In order to keep up with the increased demand for processed meats, Witteveen's added a "state of the art" smokehouse, along with other high tech processing equipment. These additions in 1990 allowed Witteveen's to produce more products in a shorter period of time and of higher quality.

Harry retired in 1994 and Victor and Douglas took over the business. The following year, in-house slaughtering came to a halt and the focus was placed on retail and processing. At the same time, wholesale was added and a retail outlet opened at the Kitchener Farmers' Market. Business took a huge leap forward and soon retail expanded to include two locations in London, Ontario (Gibraltar Trade Center and Trails End Market). In 2000, another retail outlet opened in the Hamilton Farmers' Market. To accommodate the growing retail sector, Witteveen's added a computerized smoke house and four refrigerated trucks.

Victor and Douglas did not stop the expansion in Hamilton. They opened at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, Ontario in June of 2004. With 85 feet of gleaming counter space it has been a huge success. Sharing with Toronto's success has been the opening of an outlet at the St. Jacob's Farmers' Market in March of 2005. This vibrant agricultural heritage center has put Witteveen's on the map along with their other locations.

Witteveen's dedication and hard work has made them a household name in Ontario. However, it does not stop there....they have now ventured into prepared foods and catering. A full time chef is now apart of the Witteveen team. Delicious gourmet-to-go meals are now offered. Future plans include further retail outlets throughout Ontario, new packaging, increased cross promotions and much much more. Witteveen's commitment to top quality products and service will continue, and carry them to the next level in the food industry.