West Edmonton meat shop adapts to changing times

By Heather Rastas

JASPER PLACE — The secret to keeping a family business alive for more than five decades is to embrace change, says the owner of a west Edmonton meat market.

The family-owned business, which is at 15726 Stony Plain Rd., has survived economic upheaval, annexation and other significant changes around the area.

“You have to be willing to change, and not everybody’s willing to change,” says owner David van Leeuwen. ”Some businesses can boom for 10 years, and then because they’re not changing with the times and times change, they go belly up.”

History

Ben van Soest who moved to Canada from Holland in 1950, and started Ben’s Meat and Deli in October of 1953. At the time, the shop was in the town of Jasper Place, which was annexed by the city of Edmonton in 1964.

Van Soest was a full-time meat cutter “who was basically just trying to  feed his family and build his roots. Be able to buy a house and that kind of stuff,” says van Leeuwen, van Soest’s grandson and the present owner of the market.

Van Soest’s daughter and son-in-law, Erica and Pieter van Leeuwen, bought the shop in 1976. In 1999, their son David bought the shop. He was 26 at the time.

Strategies for survival

David van Leeuwen has a number of strategies that he believes help a family business survive throughout the decades. Adapting to the times is key, he says.

For example, when van Leeuwen’s father took over the store, he started selling Dutch products. When van Leeuwen took over the family business, he invested more into gluten-free products.

It also helps to offer a good product and good service for a good price, says van Leeuwen.

Most of the recent changes that van Leeuwen has made to the shop are in the form of renovations to the building.

“They’re revitalizing the area but we’re also trying to revitalize our business,” says van Leeuwen. “It’s an old store. It’s an old building. We’ve redone the front. We’ve done the parking lot. We’ve expanded two and a half times the size. We’ve put in new showcases.”

The Stony Plain Road revitalization plan has prompted many businesses to find ways to increase density and upgrade the look and feel of the area.

What’s next

Ben’s Meat  and Deli will be celebrating its 58th anniversary on Oct. 29.

“So, this year we’re going to have 58 different prizes. People who buy stuff throughout the whole month of October get a chance to win if they enter our draw,” says Paul Dykxhoorn, a worker at the store. “The anniversary sale itself is going to be 10-per-cent off everything storewide, including steaks.”

To contact Ben’s Meat and Deli, call (780) 489-1424 or e-mail