Picture it. Northern Italy. Early 20th Century. Our great-grandpa Baratta earns his living as a butcher, instilling his love for this ancient, beloved trade into his son, our grandpa, Emmet Baratta, Sr.

It was more than a job, more than a way to make a day’s wages. It was a calling of sorts, this dedication to the craft of butchering meat. Most importantly, it planted the seed for what was to come.

Eventually, the lure of a better life called and our grandpa and his brothers made their way to the United States, coming through Ellis Island for their shot at the American Dream. After a brief time in Philadelphia, the booming auto industry in Detroit led grandpa and his brothers to the Motor City and good jobs at Chrysler.

But the auto assembly line wasn’t where our family destiny lay. Grandpa Baratta reached back to his Northern Italy roots and to the lessons he’d learned from his father about being a butcher. And from there, a simple idea was born: break down hanging beef exclusively for the butcher shops in the Detroit area. Grandpa wanted to make meat delivery quick and easy by doing something that no one else was doing and being the best at it. It’s a lesson we’ve never forgotten.

And so, in 1956, a family business was born.