UPDATED 3:22 p.m.
SALT LAKE CITY– Hi-Grade Meats opened its doors in 1955 in Salt Lake City. It was founded by Kurt and Ione Lippmann, who immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1920’s. The Lippmanns started with offerings of sausages, which grew to include hot dogs and hams and more.
The era of Hi-Grade Meats serving Utah has come to an end. “We closed our doors on July 22,” said Rick Conde of Hi-Grade Meats. He said that they haven’t produced anything in awhile. The company is placing final orders to exhaust its remaining inventory.
Lindsay Rios, employee of Hi-Grade, said she did not find out the company was closing until Friday afternoon. She says there are about 60 employees and all of them are being laid off.
“The employees I have talked to about the matter are really worried cause it caught us all off guard, they told us late Friday afternoon. We were all shocked, we had no idea this was going on whatsoever,” said Rios.
“And I dont think there is anyone else in the valley that does what Hi-Grade does, so I’m sure all those small stands or small businesses that use our product are gonna have a hard time staying in business as well. I mean all their products are Hi-Grade so it’s not just us it affects.”
St. George News has invited input from from Hi-Grade’s management or officers and been deferred to Randy Maxfield, its vice president and spokesperson; no return call has been received at time of publication.
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