J Bar Meats Wins $40,000 in San Angelo Business Competition

SAN ANGELO, TX – J Bar Meats was awarded $40,000 after winning the 2019 San Angelo Business Plan Competition. J Bar Meats is a startup specialty meats company that offers smoked meats, specialty items, and aged prime steaks. They also offer wholesale meat processing for commercial customers including jerky, sausage, and steaks.

J Bar Meats is owned and operated by Jack and Kim Graves, who have 15 years of experience in wild game processing. They were granted the top place after placing 1st in the three-phase competition that included a two-page business overview, a draft business plan, and an in-person presentation to a panel of judges.

J Bar Meats was selected from a list of 30 entrepreneurs who entered this year’s contest. The yearly competition is open to local start-ups and existing businesses wishing to expand.

The submitted business planes should reflect the vision of a market opportunity and serve as a blueprint for developing the proposed business.

Ranch Road Boots took second place in the competition and a price of $20,000. Owned by Sarah Ford, Ranch Road Boots is a direct-to-consumer digitally native footwear brand. Ford is a former Marine Corps Captain and served almost 5 years in logistics field, deploying 3 times to Iraq and Afghanistan. Ranch Road Boots targets men and women fashion boot wearers with a fashion-forward, cowboy vibe, but they also sell military shoes and boots.

Old Central Firehouse Pizzeria & Taproom won third place in the competition and took home $10,000. Owned by Jody and Michele Babiash, Old Central Firehouse is the building nestled next to the Fireman’s Memorial Park in downtown San Angelo. They are currently operating as Old Central Firehouse Bed and Brew. The vision is to add a unique one of a kind pizzeria and taproom, setting themselves apart from traditional eateries in the San Angelo area.

The City of San Angelo Development Corp., which administers the half-cent sales tax for economic development, funded the $70,000 in cash prizes. Winners also get in-kind rewards and may be eligible to apply for The Business Factory incubator program.

Advisers from the Angelo State University Small Business Development Center and students from the ASU Norris-Vincent College of Business aided entrants in drafting the plans. The competition was coordinated by COSADC, ASU SBDC and ASU Norris-Vincent College of Business.