As with any great story, the history of Don’s Meat Shop in Chattanooga begins with great-parents. It is why a recent commercial for the local staple features the great-grandmother of current owner Donnie Rains.
“My great-grandmother became a store manager for what used to be Kirk’s Grocery," Rains shares. Her grandson and his father, Don Rains, found himself learning the ropes of the meat business inside the store’s meat department in the 1950s before his sixteenth birthday and by 1982, he had long mastered it.
Don opened the doors of his namesake butcher shop that year. This original location operated in Hixon until 1991 and during those years, Donnie was a constant in the shop, learning from and working alongside his father and eventually passing on his knowledge to his own son, Will.
Following the closure of the Hixson location, “my dad went back into business in ‘92 in a much smaller store,” says Rains. “That was there from ‘92 to 2016, but in 2013, my father was sick, and I came back to the family business.” Rains had spent more than 20 years lending his expertise to a food service distributor and specialized in commodities, i.e. beef, pork, and chicken.
When Don passed away in 2014, Rains knew he had to do one thing to carry on the family legacy: build a new shop on the property purchased shortly before his father’s death. That shop is the one standing on Hixson Pike today, constructed by Donnie himself and opening in 2016.
The shop has maintained its strong reputation for being a trusted source for fresh, high-quality products for 43 years–offering a wide selection of custom-cut meats and fresh seafood. Side dishes are covered, too, with an array of frozen and ready-to-eat classics like twice baked potatoes and corn on the cob.
Most important, though, is the extended family Rains says he has gained along this journey. “A lot of [customers] are friends,” he explains. “You get to know a lot of them on a personal level, and you look forward to seeing them.”
Business has never been better for Don’s Meats who has grown expeditiously since 2016. Rains, who looks forward to passing on the torch to the next generation, says the ‘secret’ to its success is many.
“You have to sell quality products, you have to work hard,” he says. “You’ve gotta understand what your customers want. Let them know you’re here.”