WALKER, Mich. — The longest meat counter I've seen in West Michigan has a new owner, but everything else stays exactly the same.
That was the message Tim Sobie wanted to make crystal clear as he stood in front of the sprawling display case that has defined his Walker butcher shop for the past 22 years. Gift cards remain good. The staff stays put. Even the recipes for those Thursday night grab-and-go meals won't change.
What has changed is the name on the deed. Amy Jones, who already owns other businessses, has purchased Sobie Meats in a transition that happened faster than anyone expected.
"It was almost like six weeks—on your mark, get set, go," Sobie said. "It was certainly God's intervention. That's the best way I can tell you."
The sale came together through a mutual friend who brought the opportunity to Jones' attention. She wasn't actively looking for another business venture, but something about the meat market felt right.
"It was actually something I didn't know I was interested in," Jones said. "All the pieces really just fell into place very quickly."
For Sobie, 65, retirement was the driving factor. After more than two decades of working all the hours—"when it's your business, you can pick your hours. You get to work all of them," he joked—he's ready to step back. He and his wife Theresa have property up north where he plans to become "the groundskeeper," with Theresa as his assistant.
But this wasn't just a business transaction. It was a careful matching of values and vision.
Jones, who has spent 20-plus years in the family construction business, made it clear from the start that she intended to preserve what makes Sobie Meats special. The experienced managers will continue running day-to-day operations. The community involvement that has made the shop a Walker institution will expand under her ownership.
"Community service and organizations like that are extremely important," Jones said. She's already deeply involved with Make-A-Wish Michigan and Beautiful You by Profile, which helps women going through cancer treatment.
That connection became apparent immediately when Sobie realized he'd already committed to helping Beautiful You sell Super Bowl raffle tickets at the store. He called Jones apologetically, explaining it was no longer his decision to make.
"Not only she is all for it," Sobie said, "her mom is one of the ones that helped found Beautiful You. And the wig room is named after her grandmother."
Sobie's community involvement over the years has included supporting the Thin Blue Line in Michigan, helping Walker's first responders, working with Blue Star Mothers on Wreaths Across America, and countless fundraisers for individual families facing hardships like cancer.
The meat market will continue its popular Thursday night meal service, with rotating menu items posted on Facebook and Instagram. Daily lunches remain available. And yes, that massive meat counter will keep offering everything from premium steaks to house-made jerky and meat sticks.
For the upcoming Big Game, Sobie Meats will continue its traditional "soup or bowl" sale—soup and bowls on sale, plus all the game-watching essentials like meat sticks, jerky and dips.
Jones is even planning a Valentine's Day special that combines both her businesses: a $50 Benji Salon gift card, a $50 Sobie Meats gift card, and three pounds of meat sticks.
The seamless transition reflects careful planning despite its quick timeline. Both Jones and Sobie kept the sale quiet for weeks while paperwork moved through various government entities, including the liquor commission for licensing transfers.
"It was not easy," Sobie admitted about keeping the secret. "Once our customers were coming in to talk to our staff, we knew the word was going to get out there."
For customers who have supported the business for more than two decades, the message is clear: everything they value about Sobie Meats will continue under Jones' ownership.
"Amy has a big heart," Sobie said. "You'll see as time plays out, there are things that she'll be supporting other things in Walker as well."
Jones brings both business experience and genuine enthusiasm to her new role. She admits she has "a lot to learn" about the meat business, but she's surrounded herself with the experienced team that built Sobie Meats' reputation.
As for Tim Sobie, after 22 years of serving the Walker community through premium meats and consistent community support, he's looking forward to trading his apron for groundskeeping tools. But his pride in what he and Theresa built remains evident.
"There's no way Sobie Meats would be what it is without Teresa," he said of his wife, who preferred to stay off-camera but was instrumental in the business's success. "She certainly is one of the main brains behind this."
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