Steak firm puts Omaha on menu

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Dec 6, 2000

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- For mail-order shoppers across the country, Omaha is another word for beef. Give much of the credit for that association to five generations of the Simon family.

J.J. Simon started cutting meat for the city's restaurants in 1917. Over the next four generations, that small-time butcher shop has been built into Omaha Steaks, the nation's largest direct marketer of gourmet steaks and frozen foods.

"Customers sometimes make checks out to Omaha, not to Omaha Steaks," said Todd Simon, senior vice president for consumer marketing and great-great grandson of the founder.

So far this year the privately held company has sold its choice cuts to 1.7 million people through the mail or over the Internet, often as gifts for the holidays. It also operates 60 retail stores in 15 states, and provides steaks for restaurants and hotels across the country.

Wall Street stock trader Paul McEnroe has never visited Omaha, but he said that doesn't stop him from sending Omaha Steaks to friends and clients.

"The way they're individually wrapped and flash-frozen, you can put them on the grill and they taste like they were butchered the day before," said McEnroe, who placed his first order after seeing an ad in The New Yorker magazine. "I know many of my colleagues also use the product. Overall, it gets great reviews."