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The popular butcher shop that started as Chubs Meats on Route 112 in Medford is expanding its Long Island footprint yet again.
This time, owner and founder Ryan Jones has looked to the north and west, landing in Smithtown with his partner and brother-in-law, Thomas Snyder.
Chubs Meats & Catering Co. of Smithtown will be opening right in the heart of summer at 186 Terry Road, where Panico’s Community Market has stood, on and off again, for over four decades. No exact date has been set, but Jones predicts a late June or early July opening.
“We were supposed to buy the store about six years ago but backed out and always had our eye on it,” Jones told Greater Long Island.
“When it became apparent we wanted to do another store, we jumped on it.”
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The timeline
Chubs was already a known Medford mainstay, in business for some 60 years before Jones purchased it in 2014.
With the help of friends and relatives, he built up a bigger-than-ever following, but still waited a full six years before embarking on another venture.
That second venture was Chubs Burgers, Burritos, and Heroes Co., which opened in 2020 in Farmingville, (though Jones recently sold the shop to a 10-year Chubs employee to operate independently).
Jones followed that opening a year later with a second traditional Chubs butcher and catering shop, this time at 896 Johnson Ave. in Ronkonkoma.
From the outside looking in, it’s been quiet ever since for the company — known formally as Jones Food Group, Inc.
But the sales volume has kept growing tremendously.
Latest expansion
When Jones said it became apparent the Chubs brand needed to expand, he wasn’t talking about increasing sales revenues. His goal is to retain the loyal staffers who helped grow the brand, and by offering more and better opportunities within, he said.
Yes, Chubs is known for fresh ingredients and premium meats “at fair prices,” he said.
“And our service is second to none.”
But that level of service would begin to wane if workers felt they were hitting a quick ceiling.
“I attribute my success to great customers who turn into friends and a great team behind me,” he said. “I’m nothing without any of them. And I think a lot of business owners lose sight of that, where it’s just ‘me-me-me.’ That’s not how I operate. I’m never the smartest man in the room and I know it.”
Top: Ryan Jones of Chubs Meats & Catering Co. is expanding with a third butcher location this summer in Smithtown. (Credit: Chubs Facebook)
