ISHPEMING, Mich. (WZMQ) – An Ishpeming family officially opened a new meat shop Thursday, reviving a longtime community favorite that closed after a tragedy.
Milano Smokehouse Meats cut the ribbon on its storefront – in the same location as the former Glenn’s Smokehouse.
“I always used to joke around with Glenn, ‘If you ever want to sell it, I want to buy it. I love this place,'” said new owner Tim Milano. “Every time I work here, it’s like a minute goes by even though it was ten hours.”
Milano said he trained under Glenn Andrews for six years before Andrews died in March 2023.
“Seven years ago when we moved here, I saw this meat shop–” Milano paused as he started to choke up. He said Andrews was his mentor and friend.
“He really helped me out the last few years [to] kind of find my roots,” he said. “He made me realize that I had a passion for butchery.”
Milano said as soon as he heard Andrews had passed, he knew right away that he wanted to buy the shop and serve all the same favorites and some new ones. He said Andrews’ family gave him all of the original recipes and told Milano they felt Andrews would have wanted him to have them. He said he still feels his presence, like Andrews is looking over his shoulder.
“People that know Glenn know his certain sayings, things that he does, and those had a huge role in … realizing what I need to do for my customer, the attention to detail, making the good flavors, and putting the customer first,” said Milano. “He passed that down onto me, so now I just hear him every time say, ‘If you’re going to do it, do it right.'”
Andrews is memorialized inside the new Milano Smokehouse, with old pictures of when Andrews first opened up shop around the store’s entrance and a mural on the back wall depicting his smile with the “Glenn’s Smokehouse” logo.
Milano wasn’t a stranger to butchery before meeting Andrews, though. He said he grew up processing deer and cooking meals for his family even as a child. His father-in-law is also a butcher, and his daughter, Katelyn, plays a big part in the new family business too.
“Working with my daughter and coming together as a family and creating a family legacy as the years go on is something I could have never thought was possible for us,” said Milano.
Milano plans to continue to add new items, including olive oils and vinaigrettes Andrews used to sell, and fresh fish from Lake Superior and locally-sourced steaks. He’s also hoping to get a license soon to begin serving sandwiches and brats.
Milano said he’s excited to share quality, handmade products with the community.
“I’ve just been overwhelmed by the support of the community, how much I knew that they loved Glenn’s stuff, and how much they have supported us and cheered us on,” he said. “I really want to send a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all the members of the community, all my friends, all my family for supporting us.”
Milano Smokehouse Meats is located at 1040 Country Ln. and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can find the shop’s Facebook page here.
