Backstreet Country Market: Small Family Beef and Pork Direct to Your Door

By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers

Tina LeBrun of Backstreet Market never thought she’d find motivation in beef sticks. 

Her children’s school encourages families to share a healthy treat to celebrate birthdays. Their family sent beef sticks, made with beef from cattle raised on their farm, as the class snack. 

“It was a sensation,” laughs Tina. “For living in a rural area, we often find a lack of connection between the farms and the people in town. Lots of the kids had never eaten beef sticks before and were stunned that it was from cattle raised right here in Gibbon. We hadn’t thought that sending this snack would be a way to educate the youth of our community about the farms that are close by.” 

Along with her parents, Tina and her husband Kyle together are raising four kids, multiple careers, and food you can feel good about. Backstreet Market in Gibbon, Minnesota is a multigenerational business that provides direct-to-consumer pasture-raised and grain-finished, dry-aged beef and uncontained heritage pork.

“We are allowed to tell our story through the products we produce and create,” shares Tina.   “We love being a part of a special event or occasion through the food we make and the protein we grow.”

Consumers purchase Backstreet’s products at The Rainbow Foods Coop in Blue Earth, online at The Meatery, or direct from the Backstreet website. The family serves their own meat in their catering and food truck businesses. That’s how strongly they believe in the process of how they raise their animals and its superior taste. “I know I’m biased, but I really love our meat. Not only are the cattle grass fed, but we are corn finished because we really like that taste,” says Tina.  

The name Backstreet is in homage to the Backstreet Cafe, a restaurant that Tina’s parents, Greg and Tami, ran when Tina was in high school. They served meat from their farm at the restaurant. “People who ate at our restaurant or at a catering event started requesting to buy quarters, halves, or whole beef and pork. We began having our meat processor make beef sticks, which led to us selling all cuts of meat at area farmers markets.”

These days the family uses their catering and food truck as well as their farmers market stand to educate about the value of local products. They incorporate in-season produce from their home gardens and neighboring farms. Their go-to cheese is always Cannon Belles. “We love working with other local farms and businesses to create ways to enhance our delicious products,” explains Tina. “It’s worth the extra drive or effort to bring other local businesses literally to the table.” 

Everyone in the family plays a different role. Kyle and Greg oversee most of the daily care for the farm’s animals throughout their farms acreage. Tami manages the catering business and takes care of shipping products through The Meatery. Tina and Kyle’s four kids help out with every part of the process as well as raise show animals for 4-H. 

Tina handles marketing, special events, and anywhere else that needs a body.. She also vouches that their kids are absolutely spoiled, “They have the best lunch leftovers. They’re growing up thinking that it’s normal to have access to fresh food, to locally-raised food where you know the source,” smiles Tina. “My goal was to really know where my kids’ food comes from. They have no idea how unique their position is.” 

“We are just a family farm working at preserving our livelihood that is built on a love for good tasting food and creating memories with our family on the farm or around the table,” reflects Tina. “We want people to have a great experience eating together. We are so lucky that our products have a place on our neighbors’ tables. That personal connection keeps us going and makes all the work worthwhile.” 

Meet Tina and Tami Saturday, November 9 at the Farm at the Arb Taste Makers class. Registration through the arboretum website. Sample some of their locally-raised meats as prepared by Chef Beth Fisher. Ask questions about their connection with their animals.  

Thanks to their partnership with The Meatery MN it is even easier for you to enjoy high-quality farm to table food at home. Your custom meat order will be shipped to your door frozen in sustainable insulated packaging that can be reused. 

Follow Backstreet on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s happening on the farm. 

Visit the Backstreet Market Facebook page, www.themeaterymn.com, or direct email backstreetmn@gmail.com to place an order. 

Follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover more local makers who make Minnesota amazing and tasty too!