3T Meats renovates local landmark on Hwy 79
Laci and Wacey Tate of Olney completed renovations and opened Olney’s newest business, 3T Meats. Wacey said he and his family have always processed and hunted for their meat their whole lives. Wacey said he has always been interested in cattle processing, so when the Tates wanted to find a way to supplement their income, they said it was an easy choice to open a meat market.
The Tates say they purchase the cattle local, then feed them on their property until ready to be processed. The Tates are able to offer competitive prices by cutting out the middleman between the ranchers and the packers. According to Wacey, he says they pay a bit more for the cattle but save more in the long run in order to be able to keep everything local.
Along with Laci and Wacey, 3T Meats also employs Jamie Creel and Lisa Hudson, with plans to hire a high school teen to help out after school. 3T Meats recently supplied all the food for the McClatchy Tournament which took place at the Olney Country Club. Wacey said since they supplied all the food, all that was left was for the Olney Recreation Association to cook.
Laci Tate added some insight into the family and the new business. “Wacey graduated from Olney, I graduated from Bryson. We met at the Brenham stock show, as he was active in 4-H and I was in FFA. We married and have one son, who’s the 3 to the T. We live on a small farm outside of town. My husband is active in the oilfield and enjoys it very much. But you never know where things will lead, so we decided to invest into something that we both love, something that is who we are, and also something that we could possibly pass down to Cooper. We’ve always had a passion for the outdoors, hunting, fishing and cooking out with friends.
Wacey has always been into traveling near and far for the best steak, the best seasoning and the coldest beer. We’ve always had a love for Fischer’s Meat Market in Muenster, Texas. Not only have they processed our own cattle, we always enjoy going into their store and shopping for the unique items. Sausages, jarred items, everything. We always wanted a place like that here in Olney, and we finally decided to do it before we get much older.
We purchased the old Olney Café back in January of this year. It’s taken so long for us to remodel the building, but we had the greatest friends, family and local businesses help us get it going. Most all interior work was done by my husband, my son and myself. We put so much time and love into the building to make it ours. We want this business for our community and for us. We wanted something that at the end of the day, when we lock up, we are proud of what we’ve done. This building has been in Olney for many years, it has been countless number of cafés over the years. The building was falling down and we love that we brought it back to life. All of our products are made in Texas. We’ve searched high and low, far and wide for the best for our town. Every spice, every jarred item, every package of meat was handpicked and purchased locally or within our great state.
Finding the best-bred cattle is our goal for our store. We will always purchase from our local farmers and ranchers. Our cattle were purchased from Diamond Bar Cattle Co, and R.L. Spivey, both outstanding cattlemen here in our area. All our meat is USDA approved. We offer wholesale beef, hand-cut ribeyes and sirloins on Thursday-Saturday. If you call ahead, we can have you a grill prep ready, seasoned steak, baked potato, jalapeno pepper wraps, all ready to go. You can come inside, or we offer a drive-through where we will hand deliver to your car.”
3T Meats is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday hours are still being looked at.
For more info on 3T Meats, call 940-564-2378 or visit their Facebook page at 3T Meats.