A Cut Above The Rest

Firm succeeds by reactnig to changing tastes

Yosemite Meat Co. General Manager Mike Curry and owners
Gay and John Lau and their son Steven review expansion plans.
BART AH YOU/THE BEE

By JOHN HOLLAND
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: May 8, 2006, 06:45:28 AM PDT

About 70 years after Sing Lau started a meat market in downtown Modesto, his grandson, John Lau, is thriving in the same industry just a mile away.

The younger Lau and his wife, Gay, own Yosemite Meat Co., which produces wholesale beef and pork on Zeff Road in south Modesto.

A few things have changed since the elder Lau wielded a cleaver: The rules on food safety are stricter and retailers seek products that are easy for busy people to cook.

"The consumer is looking for a little bit more of a lean product and a prepared product," John Lau said. "Before, you would just wrap a piece of meat on the counter, and people would buy it."

His company has grown to 140employees, who slaughter and process meat for retailers in and near California, such as Food Maxx, Food 4 Less and La Perla Tapatia.

Sing Lau's market was on H Street. He eventually returned to his native China. The teenage John Lau came to Modesto from Hong Kong in 1969. His father, Chuen Lau, owned Whitmore Market in Ceres until the early 1980s.

John and Gay Lau, who is also from Hong Kong, started Yosemite Meat and Locker Service on Yosemite Boulevard in 1981. A decade later, they bought Victor Meat Co. and consolidated the businesses at Victor's Zeff Road plant under the Yosemite Meat Co. name.

Today, it has about46,000 square feet of space, almost half of it refrigerated. The company turns out roasts, ribs, organs and other products, some of them aimed at Latinos and other ethnic groups.

A staff veterinarian makes sure the livestock, shipped in from around the country, is healthy. Two inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture work full time at the plant.

"It's more aggressive in terms of federal regulations," General Manager Mike Curry said. "Our main focus is to provide a safe and wholesome product."

The employees are trained in sanitation and safety before working the lines.

"They do require some physical strength, and they do require some common sense," John Lau said. "You can't drop a piece of meat and put it back on the table."

The company is planning a 12,000-foot expansion on the north side of the plant.

The Laus have a long record of support for their community and industry. They helped house Modesto-area flood victims in 1997 and have supported 4-H and FFA programs.

They donated $1 million last month toward a meatprocessing center at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, which has trained several of their employees.

"He's a phenomenal person," Curry said of John Lau. "He really cares about the employees, and so does Gay."

John Lau said the key to business success is "hard work and a lot of common sense." Liking what you do helps, too.

"I enjoy doing this, to provide food products to people."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AT A GLANCE

COMPANY: Yosemite Meat Co.

LOCATION: 601 Zeff Road, next to Highway 99 in south Modesto

CONTACT: 524-5117 or www.yosemitemeat.com

PRODUCTS: Beef and pork harvested and processed on the site for retailers;
distribution of poultry for other companies.

OWNERS: John and Gay Lau

EMPLOYEES: 140

HISTORY: The Laus started Yosemite Meat and Locker Service on Yosemite Boulevard in 1981. A decade later, they bought Victor Meat Co. on Zeff Road and combined the two operations at that location.

QUOTE: "The consumers are smarter than they used to be. As a meat processor,
we need to cater to them." -- John Lau