Processor focused on halal meat to open in Coshocton
Owner Arif sells meat across nation through Wegotmeat.com, a Dublin store
COSHOCTON − Having access to specific types of meat as part of his religion and heritage led Syed Raza Arif to become a distributor. His new meat processing facility will opening this week at 19799 County Road 7.
Wegotmeat.com sells meat around the country via online and has a physical store in Dublin. It specializes in goats and lambs and halal meats, which is a specific type of slaughtering method that adheres to Islamic law. Arif said the majority of his clients are Muslims and those from India, who have a hard time finding such meat in regular stores.
As his business grew, Arif believed it was better to be the direct provider and not a middle man getting meat from other slaughterhouses and processors to customers.
“In order to expand, I need to have control over everything. Buying from a third party, you can run into quality issues and quantity issues,” Arif said. “Instead of paying someone else, I’d rather have my own where I can control the quality and if at some point I franchise into more stores, I would keep the same quality and quantity at all my stores.”
Coshocton is a point between Arif’s main customers in Columbus and Cleveland and the farmers he gets animals
from in rural counties like Coshocton and Holmes. He also believes there will be an influx of Indians and others who want halal meat moving into the area with the Intel plant being built in Licking County.
“To have this ready before they come in, mattered to me most,” Arif said. “Coshocton was the perfect place for us as we’re not too far from New Albany and we’re not far from the biggest Amish farming community that raises
goats. There’s also an auction place in Mt. Hope. This sits right in the middle of all that.”
Arif said he’s received great cooperation from local officials and has used local materials and laborers on the project. Cross Builders was his main contractor.
“I’m not from Coshocton, but I wanted to have trust built in the community.
I wanted to give back to the community in a way that they will also welcome us and we’re providing them business, so they don’t feel like an outsider is coming in,” Arif said.
The operation features a small barn that will house 50 to 60 animals at any one time and a main building about 2,000-square-feet with offices, storage rooms, a kill floor, walk-in cooler and processing room. Animals can be processed in a variety of different cuts of meat.
Arif estimates they will process 40 to 50 animals a day once they get in gear, about 50 a week will be for his Dublin store. People can buy goats and lambs from him or bring in their own animals. They will eventually do beef and inspected poultry as well. Inspected means the meat is approved for resale.
He also wants to eventually sell prepackaged meat across the U.S. processed and shipped from the Coshocton facility. He ships through his store now outside Ohio, with Chicago and New York being major markets. The plant will start with three full-time employees with more to be add as the business grows.
“I’ve spoken to a few people and they’re very excited about this business coming into Coshocton County, just because there aren’t a whole lot of meat processing places in Coshocton,” Arif said. “This place would be for Coshocton County.”
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-2953417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.