The Meat Market’s Fresno location on West Alluvial Avenue, decked out with 50th anniversary banners marking the family-owned butcher shop’s run from 1976 to 2026. Meat Market photo
One of Fresno’s oldest family-owned butcher shops is celebrating a golden anniversary — and thanking loyal customers with a private-label cabernet sauvignon.
The Meat Market, founded in 1976 by Harry Smith, Leo Aivazian and Al Papulias, got its start in a 5,000-square-foot store on Shields and Chestnut avenues. By 1981, Leo’s son Jeff Aivazian had become the sole owner, and in 1986 the company became a USDA-inspected plant and expanded its footprint to Clinton and Chestnut avenues.
Jeff Aivazian passed away in 2017. The third-generation business is now owned by his former wife Debbie and their children, Mark and Michelle.
The Meat Market’s private-label cabernet sauvignon and sparkling wine, released in honor of the business’s 50th anniversary, are priced at $19.99 per bottle and available at both the Fresno and Clovis locations. Meat Market photo
Today, the Fresno-based company operates two locations — its current flagship at 454 W. Alluvial Ave. and a Clovis location opened by business partners in 2008 at Shepard and Fowler avenues. Both carry custom cuts, house-made sausages, local wines and hot meals served from a walk-up window called The Grill, where customers can grab barbecued tri-tip sandwiches, Philly cheese steaks and stuffed breakfast burritos at prices Barger keeps deliberately competitive.
“It’s our true markup, what we’re paying for items,” said Vince Barger, the company’s president and a former professional baseball player who has been with The Meat Market for nearly 40 years. “I check prices around and make sure we’re competitive.”
With Easter approaching, the market will offer its popular Texas honey ham and lamb shish kebab alongside traditional cookout staples — fresh corn, salad fixings and deli meats sliced to order.
To mark the milestone, the company plans to celebrate all year with giveaways, deals and 50th anniversary-themed bottles of cabernet sauvignon and sparkling wine, private-labeled for the occasion.
“As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to continuing to serve the Central Valley for many more years to come,” the company said.