New rural Lee County business sells local fish, beef, cheese and more
MONTROSE — Lined by little more than wildflowers and cornfields, a rural Lee County road has seen an uptick in traffic in recent weeks as word has spread about the opening of a new fish and meat market.
Darin Metsker, a lifelong resident of Lee County, opened MAFAB Fisheries at 2408 Peach Orchard Road in June after five years of selling locally caught fish on an order-by-order basis.
"I'd fished forever and people were always calling, and it just kept growing and getting bigger and bigger," Metsker said Wednesday, nodding toward a larger building nearby where he had operated another business. "We outgrew the other shop and needed a better place to do it."
A glass display case next to the cash register was filled with catfish caught, cleaned and smoked by Metsker, whose early mornings are spent with other fishermen checking trout lines and nets strategically placed along the Mississippi River between Keokuk and just south of Burlington.
"Trout lines are exhausting," he said. "I usually get up around 2, then we'll go out and pick up the lines and get the fish, then we come back here and weigh and dress the fish. By the time we get all that done, it's time to bait the lines and go back to the river."
Flood years and heavy rains drive Metsker closer to the bank and further into timber on islands, but the type of fish caught remains the same, with catfish and buffalo carp being the most preferred by his customers.
Summertime is particularly good for fishing, while winter months are spent repairing nets and lines damaged by the fish they catch, as well as tree limbs caught in the river's current.
Metsker never had been one for pole-fishing. Instead, he prefers to use nets and lines crafted in Montrose and Oquawka, Illinois. His furthest net supplier is in Clinton.
"It's a hereditary thing," Metsker's mother, Anna, said of her son's trout-line preference and knack for catching fish as she and her husband, Mark, popped in to lend a helping hand. "Mark's father passed away when he was like 4 years old, but the day before he passed away, there was a picture of Mark and his dad on the river on the boat."
The fish are dressed in Metsker's repair building before being moved to MAFAB Fisheries, which is divided into three rooms: one for customers, another for storing product and preparing orders, and the third for smoking fish.
"Times have changed in the public's eye," Metsker said. "It used to be nobody thought anything of fish getting dressed and all that stuff. It's not like that anymore. People don't want to see you cutting the head off a fish when they want to buy stuff."
Metsker explained that his wife, Bobbi, has made it her mission to ensure the market never smells like fish.
Instead, the air around the market is filled with a savory, smoky aroma emanating from the back of the building.
More: How a southeast Iowa elk farm is adapting to a changing market and helping trumpeter swans thrive
More: 'Pork without peer': Columbus Junction brothers turn rare Hungarian hogs into national delicacy
'You know what you're getting': Demand for local products continues after COVID-19
Fish are far from the only local product sold at MAFAB Fisheries. In a cooler near the cash register are cheeses produced by Hinterland Dairy in Donnellson, and along the market's south-facing wall next to an assortment of frozen shrimp, frog legs, and alligator and turtle meat ordered from a non-local supplier are Wenke's Beef products, which are made from cattle raised in Montrose by Cody and Jessica Wenke.
"They were in the same boat I was," Metsker said of the Wenkes. "They were selling everything out of their house, and they're both very busy; they both have jobs. They farm, so they have a bunch of cattle, and he's constantly going into the house to sell five pounds of hamburger, going into the house to sell 10 pounds of hamburger. Yes, you can make money at it, but your time's worth something."
Metsker said he noticed a rising demand for high-quality local food products during the COVID-19 pandemic amid fears of shortages and supply-chain issues, and it appears that demand is here to stay.
"(With local products), you know what you're getting," he said. "You're not getting feed-lot beef stuffed full of hormones. You're getting something raised out there on the grass. The quality's huge, and you're dealing with local people."
Metsker plans to start carrying more local products in time.
Having local suppliers — and being his own supplier — means fewer supply-chain disruptions, but it doesn't eliminate them. Since setting up shop, Metsker has learned to order two cases of salmon when he needs one, and that orders he knows he'll need in by Wednesday should be made for Monday.
Supply-chain disruptions also resulted in a months-long wait for the industrial-sized smoker that Metsker ordered in November and didn't receive until June.
As far as local products, though, he has yet to be sold out for more than a day.
More: Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig boasts homegrown products during Des Moines County stop
Word of mouth draws customers from near and far
Metsker's business has seen a growing number of customers, and he estimates he now serves about 300 per week.
"Last Saturday, it was slow and there were probably 40 people in here," he said. "On a busy Saturday, there was a line out the door."
People waiting can take in historical photos of Lee County, including of a canal in Keokuk that was used before construction of the dam.
Metsker attributes part of that success to fast-traveling word-of-mouth in a tight-knit community and a decent social media following.
"Everybody around here I've known my whole life," Metsker said. "Between helping my neighbors and just being around the community for years — we've helped with the Watermelon Festival for 20 years — I just know a lot of people. And so when you start doing something like this and you put it on Facebook, that one shares it, this one shares it and this one shares it."
To reach those not tuned in to Facebook, Metsker took out a Bonnie Buyer ad, which he said has helped to draw in more senior customers.
Metsker said a growing number of customers are coming from farther away, including smaller communities like Hamilton, Illinois, where Sonja Lunt had traveled from Wednesday for a return visit to purchase beef.
Metsker said he is not yet taking online orders but has plans to do so in the near future, meaning for the time being, customers will have to show up in person.
MAFAB Fisheries, located about 2½ miles south of Montrose, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
More: The former Shopko building in Burlington is on track to get a new tenant. Here's what we know.
More: Inside the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' efforts to rebrand Asian carp
Editor's note: This report has been updated to correctly identify Cody and Jessica Wenke as the owners of Wenke's Beef.
Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: MAFAB Fisheries in Montrose sells local meat and cheese products
