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Clinton approves processing plant

CLINTON — A local couple hope to break ground this month in the village’s industrial park for a custom pork and beef processing facility with a retail store and deli.

The village plan commission Tuesday night approved a conditional-use permit for the project at 109 Church St.

Applicants Jeff and Kathy Collins are expecting state permits any day and hope to break ground in 10 days, Jeff said. They expect to open the 6,750-square-foot store in December.

The couple already are licensed to sell meat from their farm on Stateline Road in Clinton Township and will keep doing so in the new store. Having a storefront rather than selling off the farm will allow other producers to sell at Collins’ store, too, Kathy said.

Kathy said she wants to include locally made, specialty cheeses in the deli as well as cut meats.

The business will process animals customers bring in. Selling and processing local meat fits with the current grocery-shopping trend, Kathy said.

“People are so much more concerned about where their meat comes from,” she said.

The facility would be able to process a maximum of 20 beef cattle per week and 40 hogs, Jeff said. They will not process venison, Kathy said.

The store will employ three people full-time and up to five more people part-time, he said.

The conditional-use permit prohibits hazardous waste entering the village’s sewer system from the facility and requires waste containers and outside storage to be screened.

The business will be located in the village’s only active tax incremental financing district, Administrator Philip Rath said.