A refrigerated meat case in a grocery store, trays of steaks, ground beef and sausage laid out on white paper under the glass against a white tiled wall.

This week's ad

Prices good Wednesday 29 July through Tuesday 4 August

The whole ad is on this page, not in a file you have to download. It goes up Tuesday night and it is the same in all three stores unless a line says otherwise.

Meat counter Cut here, every morning

$3⁹⁹ per pound Ground chuck, 80/20 Ground in store daily. Five pound packs $3.69.
$8⁴⁹ per pound Ribeye steak, choice Cut to any thickness while you wait.
$2²⁹ per pound Bone in pork steak Cut from Missouri hogs.
$4⁷⁹ per pound Boneless chicken breast Ten pound case $4.29 per pound.
$6⁹⁹ per pound Smoked bratwurst Made Thursday. Beer and cheddar, or plain.
$5²⁹ per pound Bacon, thick cut Sliced off the slab to whatever thickness you say.
$3¹⁹ per pound Pork sausage, bulk Mild, sage or hot. Ground and seasoned here.
$9⁹⁹ per pound Beef brisket, whole packer Trimmed free. Say if you want the point left on.

Produce Delivered Tuesday and Friday

4^/$5eachSweet cornLocal, picked that morning while it lasts.
99^¢per poundSlicing tomatoes
$1²⁹per poundRed seedless grapes
$2⁴⁹three pound bagYellow onions

Grocery Same price in all three stores

2^/$618 countLarge eggs
$3⁴⁹gallonWhole milkLimit two at this price.
$1⁷⁹20 ounce loafWhite or wheat bread
$4⁹⁹48 ounceVegetable oil
10^/$1015 ounce cansCanned vegetablesMix and match, corn, green beans, peas.
$5⁹⁹12 pack cansSoft drinksLimit four, then $7.49.
$2⁹⁹16 ounceBlock cheddar
3^/$55 ounce boxesMacaroni and cheese

Case lot Ordered by the case, picked up Friday

$32⁰⁰case of 24Canned tomatoes
$46⁵⁰25 pound bagAll purpose flour
$58⁰⁰40 pound boxChicken leg quarters
$21⁷⁵50 pound bagPotatoes, russet

Quantity rights reserved. Limits are printed on the item above rather than buried in small type at the bottom, because a limit you find out about at the register is worse than no sale at all. Case lot orders are taken at the counter or by telephone up to Wednesday and are ready Friday afternoon.

A wooden bin heaped with sweet corn in the produce corner of a small grocery, crates of tomatoes and onions behind it under fluorescent light.

The meat counter

The reason to drive past two other stores

There is a person behind the glass in Plattsburg from six in the morning. Anything in the case can be cut thicker, thinner, trimmed, tied or ground while you wait, at the same price per pound. None of that costs extra and it never has.

A whole untrimmed beef brisket on a wooden butcher block beside a boning knife and a roll of white butcher paper.

Bulk orders, hanging weight, cut and wrapped included
Order	Hanging weight	Per pound	Typical total	Freezer space
Half hog	90 to 110 lb	$2.85	$285	3 cubic feet
Whole hog	180 to 220 lb	$2.65	$530	6 cubic feet
Quarter beef	160 to 190 lb	$4.15	$705	5 cubic feet
Half beef	320 to 380 lb	$3.95	$1,375	10 cubic feet

Hanging weight is what you pay on and it is not what goes in the freezer. A half hog hangs at about 100 pounds and comes home as roughly 70 pounds of wrapped meat, because bone and trim are real. Anyone who quotes you a bulk price without saying that is hoping you do not weigh it.

Order by Thursday noon for the following week

Bulk orders go to the locker on Friday morning and come back cut the week after. Ring the Plattsburg counter on (816) 555-0142 and say roughly how you want it: chops thick or thin, how much ground, whether you want the shoulder as roast or sausage.

If you have never done this before, say so, and whoever answers will walk you through the cut sheet on the phone. It takes about ten minutes and it is the difference between a freezer you cook out of and a freezer you feel guilty about.

A plain flat roofed grocery store on the corner of an empty parking lot, propane cage and ice chests beside the entrance, overcast daylight.

Three stores

Same ad, same prices, three different front doors

Hours are identical in all three and have been for years. The differences that actually matter are printed under each store rather than left for you to discover on a Sunday.

Plattsburg

103 North East Street
Plattsburg, Missouri
(816) 555-0142

Mon to Sat: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Full meat counter and the bulk orders. Cutting starts at 6 a.m.

Gower

205 South 169 Highway
Gower, Missouri
(816) 555-0158

Mon to Sat: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Meat cut to order on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only. Other days, ring ahead.

Lathrop

411 North Street
Lathrop, Missouri
(816) 555-0163

Mon to Sat: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The only store with a propane exchange cage and the ice house out front.

All three close at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and are shut on Christmas Day, Thanksgiving and Easter. Everything else, including the Fourth of July, is normal hours.

At the register

What we take, and the two things people are shy about asking

SNAP and WIC, all three stores

Both are accepted at every till, not one special lane. WIC approved items carry a small orange shelf tag beside the price so you can see it from the aisle instead of finding out at the front.

Cheques, with no minimum

Local cheques are still taken and there is no card minimum either. Cash back up to $50 on a debit card.

Special orders cost nothing extra

If we can get it, we will get it, in whatever size you want, at shelf price. Gluten free, a case of one soup, a brand you moved away from. Ask at the counter.

We will carry it out

Every time, not only when it looks heavy, and there is no tip. If you cannot get in easily, ring ahead and someone will bring an order to the kerb.

The ad changes Tuesday night. The meat counter is the same every morning.

Ring the store nearest you for a bulk order, a case lot or anything you cannot find on the shelf.

Call Plattsburg (816) 555-0142

Plattsburg

103 North East Street
(816) 555-0142

Gower

205 South 169 Highway
(816) 555-0158

Lathrop

411 North Street
(816) 555-0163

Every store

Monday to Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.