WENATCHEE — Next time you’re bailing out your brother-in-law at the Chelan County Law and Justice Building, be sure to grab a bag of cured meats.
That’s right — jerky at the jail. Salami at Superior Court.
On Thursday, famed Owens Meats of Cle Elum installed a refrigerated vending machine in the lobby of the Law and Justice Building that sells packs of some of the company’s most popular cured and dried meats.
Think beef and turkey jerky, spicy pepperoni with cheese, summer sausage, salami and cheese, the Owens family’s signature cheddar cheese spread and landjager, a semi-dried German sausage.
Note: These packs of meats aren’t cheap. Prices range from $5.50 for 2-yards of pepperoni sticks to $10 for a combo pack of meats and cheeses to $16 for a 12-ounce pack of Owens’ best beef jerky.
Owens Meats — slogan: “The Candy Store for the Carnivore” — already has machines at Stan’s Merry Mart in Wenatchee, Smallwood’s Harvest in Peshastin, Monaco’s Corner Store in Leavenworth and other locations in the state.
“When the courthouse cafe here closed a while back, we began looking for an alternative,” said Chris Flick, facilities director for Chelan County. “I saw the machines at Stan’s and Smallwood’s and thought, wow, for us this might be the perfect match.”
Other than a dribble of electricity to keep the meats cool, there’s no cost to the county, said Flick. The vending machine doesn’t even require a dedicated data line for its credit card reader. The gizmo runs encrypted transactions through cellular networks.
“We see this as a benefit to the public, especially to visitors to the courthouse campus,” said Flick. “Cured meats,” he smiled, “can definitely enhance the courthouse experience.”
Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris agreed. “The machine’s been here two days, and I’ve been here each day,” he said, buying a combo pack of chunked sausages and cheeses. “The protein makes a great mid-morning snack and keeps me from eating lots of sugar and junk. Plus, it tastes good. Really good.”
