Jack and Pat's Old Fashioned Butcher Shop was started in February of 1972 by two brothers, Jack Powers and Kenneth Patrick Powers.

 

Jack has lived in Worth for nearly 60 years and formerly worked as a butcher at an A&P food store.  His brother Pat, who lived in Dolton, IL, was a former Kroger butcher.  They both grew up in the food business.  Their father was an A&P store manager after he served in World War I.

 

When Jack and Pat first took over the store it was mainly the corner grocery store, with a small 12-foot meat counter and deli combined.  Since they both knew the meat business, they changed the grocery store into a butcher shop.  Jack and Pat built the business up over the years with customer service and quality meats as the backbone of their business.

 

In 1988, Pat retired and sold his half of the business to Jack who became the sole owner.  Pat and his wife, Mary, retired and moved to Texas where their oldest son lives.  Jack's brother Pat died a couple of years after his wife Mary lost her battle with cancer.

 

In 1990, Jack semi-retired and his oldest son, John, took over the day to day responsibilities of managing Jack and Pat's.  John has worked at the shop since it opened in 1972 as a stock boy at age 14.  In 1976, John joined the meat union and has been a meat cutter for over 40 years.

 

All of Jack's six children worked at the butcher shop at one time or another.  Brian, John's younger brother has worked at the butcher shop for over 30 years and manages the deli department.  John and Brian are the two main meat cutters, cutting over 90% of all the meat in the cutting room.  Although they would prefer to be out on the front counter taking care of customers, they know the importance of having quality cut meats, trimmed to perfection, unlike many of the chain stores. 

 

Jack's only daughter, Jacqueline works at the store. She helps with catering, cutting meat, and enjoys taking care of customers. 

 

Jack also has two other sons, Steve and Patrick, who have other full-time jobs.  However, Steve still works weekends at Jack and Pat's while Patrick helps whenever he is needed.

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Jack had another son, Tim, who was handicapped since the age of 10.  He passed away in 2005.

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John's son, Jason, is our sausage and ground meats man.  He makes all our homemade sausages and patties.

 

John met his wife, Karen, at the butcher shop when she started working there as a cashier.  They have been married for over 40 years,  Karen still works the cash register upfront when she isn't busy doing the books or helping with catering; however, her primary responsibility is managing the grocery department.

 

Sadly, Jack passed away in February 2020, but the business continues through his children. As you can see, Jack and Pat's has always been a family-owned and operated business.  Celebrating over 48 years of service to the community.