Ryan Ziems with staff member Pat O’Keeffe.
Harden’s local butcher shop Ziems’ Quality Meats has carved out a name for itself officially winning Triple M Riverina’s award for Best Butcher Shop in the region.
Owner Ryan Ziems was both humbled and surprised by the honour, which came as an unexpected but welcome recognition for the business he has poured his heart into over the past two and a half years.
“Winning the award means a lot,” Ryan said.
“Everyone enjoys what we’re doing and it makes us feel like we’re doing something right.” Ryan, who has been in the butchering trade for 12 years, said he wasn’t even aware the competition was taking place until the results were announced. The surprise made the win even more meaningful.
“It was quite a big surprise actually,” he said. “The next day when we’d won, the amount of people that came in and already knew about it was amazing. What stood out is that it wasn’t just a quick ‘like’ online, people had to take the time to fill out a form to vote. That meant something”.
Unlike some businesses that campaign for awards, Ryan hadn’t pushed customers to vote the support came organically, a sign of the loyalty and respect he’s built among locals.
The Harden butcher shop has built its reputation on a clear philosophy: deliver top-quality meat at reasonable prices, and source produce as locally as possible.
“A lot of our meat comes from nearby we get a lot of beef and lamb from Cowra, and we also kill beef and lamb on the farm,” Ryan said.
“That local connection helps with quality and consistency.” Looking ahead, Ryan is keeping the momentum going. The shop is set for some renovations to freshen up the space and improve the customer experience. He’s also planning to introduce new product lines to offer more variety to his growing customer base.
“We’re always looking at ways to improve. We want to expand our range and keep the shop moving forward.”
-Liam Stuart
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.
