Chase’s Chop Shop

History

Established in 2010.

Paper: Fresno Bee, The (CA)

Title: Old shop, new start

Date: January 26, 2011

After more than 60 years, Gus’ Meat Locker in Madera has a new name and is coming full circle — thanks to a young couple with a passion for artisan meats.

Step up to the meat counter, and you’ll see new items such as Calabrese and Sicilian sausage. Head to the deli, and you’ll notice a greater variety of sandwiches, such as sliced turkey and a housemade avocado spread on focaccia bread from Max’s Bakery in Fresno.

And a peek around the corner may reveal a group of older butchers cutting and wrapping meat. Old-​timers will recognize them as local meat experts and former rivals: There’s 69-​year-​old Clyde Polston, who owned the old Clyde’s Meat Service & Lockers in Chowchilla; 61-​year-​old Bill McCann of Willie’s Country Meats in Le Grand; 68-​year-​old Jim Hardesty, former owner of Madera Quality Meats; and 70-​year-​old Don Sambueso, a former owner of Gus’.

«I call them my little brat pack,» says Melissa Chase,