NEWPORT, Ky. — The second oldest business in the city of Newport has been told to pack up its things and leave, drawing major backlash.
Greg Steffen, the owner of Ebert’s Meat Market, said he loves the grind, which is appropriate for someone who spends a lot of time grinding meat.
“It’s fantastic. It’s the best 23 years I’ve ever had. Being here is the best. Work every day, and it’s better than anything I’ve ever done,” Steffen said.
The hundreds of pounds of beef Steffen grinds up every day isn’t the only beef he’s had as of late.
“It’s sickening. Sickening, yeah. It was tough. But we don’t have any victims working here, so we’re moving on,” he said. “Just received that letter that he wasn’t going to renew my lease. Didn’t give us much time to work with, and that’s pretty much the whole story.”
It’s not quite the whole story.
The ‘he’ Steffen refers to is Steven Rayburn, the great grandson of Andy Ebert, original owner of Ebert’s Meat Market, which has been in Newport for 125 years at 939 Monmouth Street.
Steffen bought the business from Steven Rayburn’s father Ed Rayburn in 1999, but not the building, which Steven Rayburn inherited in 2020 after his father passed away.
On Friday, April 1, Steffen received a letter from Rayburn, which Steffen posted outside the store, informing him and his staff their lease would not be renewed, they needed to clear out their belongings and be out by mid-June.
When Ebert announced what had happened on social media, many loyal customers were not happy.
“It’s sad. I would do anything to change it, but I’m sure I can’t. It’s history,” said customer Betty Applegate, who has been shopping at the store for 10 years.
When asked what she loved about the store, Applegate responded, “Just about everything. Their food is great.”
On Facebook, hundreds of comments and shares have spawned from the store’s posts. Many of them are from people asking what they can do to help.
Steffen said customers have also been coming into the store and placing orders non-stop.
“I mean, yesterday was more than double. Today, I’m sure, is more than double our regular customers,” he said. “It makes the hair stand up on my arms. I ain’t gonna lie. It’s humbling. It’s a humbling experience, what’s going on right now.”
“I don’t know how you put that into words. I’ll tell you what, you look on our Facebook page, that puts it into words. 60,000 people have read that post,” Steffen said.
The city of Newport itself is also stepping in.
After she learned about the notice, Business Liaison Officer Bev Holiday informed City Manager Thomas Fromme.
“He immediately said, ‘You need to see what you can do to find them a site.’ and I said, ‘Well, since I’ve known about it for the weekend, I’m already working on it,’” Holiday said. “The fact that it is our second oldest business in the city of Newport, established in 1897, that’s what we’re all about. We’re about keeping businesses here. So we want to make sure we can find Greg and his staff a new site.”
Donors have raised more than $2,500 on GoFundMe to help with moving costs, and what likely will be a lapse in employment for the staff, who Steffen said is like family to him.
“There might be several months where we don’t exist. Even if we are able to move, I don’t know that we’ll be able to walk out of here and step into something else,” Steffen said. “Our goal is to be in Newport. We don’t want to take a business that’s been here for 125 years anywhere else.”
Spectrum News 1 reached out to Steven Rayburn for comment Thursday, but has not heard back.
The store’s last day in its current location will be June 4.
The original Facebook post reads:
It’s a sad time at Eberts Meats. After 125 years of operation, 23 of which we proudly provided, it is coming to an end. You may remember your grandma coming here with her mother. Many of you have been coming here since you were children and many of you are bringing your children with you. If you’re old enough, you remember Mr. Ebert giving you a hotdog as a treat. Nowadays we give lollipops. Linda Klare remembers Mrs. Ebert teaching her how to cook. Now Linda has her own cookbook. A special thanks goes out to Linda and all the Klares for the incredible amount of support they have given us. Joe did get after us one time for not cutting his steak thick enough. That was the last time (LOL).
The stories about this place are boundless, but that’s all coming to an abrupt and unceremonious end. The new owner of the property is Steve Rayburn. He has given us 2 months to remove all of our personal belongings and vacate the premises. Seems less than fair to the young people and their families who have worked so hard to provide the experience that is Ebert’s Meats. (The old guy will be fine) We have loved every minute here because of you, the people we have met and served. In my time here we have never had a group I was so proud of. In fact, in my time anywhere I have never been as proud of a group as I am with this group. I know by the love you give us every day that you agree.
June 4th will be our last official day here. I sincerely hope you will support us till the very bitter end. These have been the best years of my life. We will miss seeing you and working hard to make you happy. Please wish us luck on this new chapter in all our lives.
Greg, Rob, Chris, Sam and Savannah
