As the current owners of Cudlin’s Meat Market in Newfield are getting ready to retire, two local men hope they can help fill a need in the region for more meat processing by purchasing the facility. They are reaching out to their community for help achieving this goal.
These men are John Cochran and Timothy Mason. They have aspired to purchase the meat market for several years. They now have a GoFundMe online fundraiser to help raise the money needed to purchase the facility, which Cochran said he believes could benefit many in the region.
“We feel there is a need for a slaughter facility that is USDA inspected [because] the area has so many farms and the next closest one is over 4 hours away,” Cochran said. “There are custom facilities closer but even then there are still people looking for a not only animal processing but the retail side of the business as well.”
Cochran was born and raised in the Finger Lakes and currently lives in Trumansburg with his wife and son. He also said he has experience which would be relevant to running the meat market.
“I have family on both sides that have been butchers in different capacities and it had always intrigued me. I worked for several years as a butcher in Ithaca working my way up to butcher room manager,” Cochran said.
Mason has a variety of restaurant experiences and has worked almost every position possible except for the butcher room manager in a local butcher shop where he is currently the operations manager.
Cochran also explained some specific plans for the meat market if he and Mason are fortunate enough to raise the money to purchase it. Short-term items include doing a few small upgrades to the facility and building a smokehouse.
“Our longer-term goals are to expand into deer processing, add another walk-in cooler and begin our charcuterie processes,” Cochran said.
