Crafty Steere in Montrose expands offerings with steaks from Copley cattle company

Crafty Steere, a year-old specialty food store in Montrose, has now added filet, New York strip and ribeye steaks as well as ground beef to its growing lineup of offerings.

The locally sourced beef from J. Parker Cattle Co. of Copley is grain-fed and pasture-raised. The steaks, ground beef and four-packs of sirloin patties are processed and vacuum-sealed at Marshallville Packing Co. in Wayne County.

"It's really good meat, I think, and it's at a good value," said Crafty Steere owner Brian Steere.

Filet prices are $21.99 a pound, strip steaks $17.99 a pound, ribeye $16.99 a pound, sirloin steaks $11.99 a pound and short ribs $10.99 a pound. Ground beef sells for $7.99 a pound, with each sirloin patty weighing about a quarter of a pound.

Crafty Steere's latest shipment of beef also includes beef brisket, chuck roast and short ribs.

This is the second month that Crafty Steere has purchased a half-cow from J. Parker Cattle Co. to sell beef at the store. Last month, Steere shared the steaks with a number of loyal customers and asked for feedback.

This month, the steaks and ground beef are going through their first full market test with the public, said Steere, who plans to purchase a whole cow from J. Parker Cattle Co. in April.

Crafty Steere opened a year ago

Crafty Steere, which opened last March in the former Pandora's Cupcakes space at 3571 Brookwall Drive, started with selling the former West Point Market's beloved cheese spreads, brownies, cookies and deli salads. Crafty Steere is managed by Rick Vernon, who was the third-generation owner of West Point Market in Akron and later a smaller location in Fairlawn.

From the start, Crafty Steere also has kept the Pandora brand alive by selling Pandora’s Cupcakes. The new store originally was built around both the cupcakes and West Point Market brownies, Steere said.

Crafty Steere has been expanding the foods it features from small businesses, including Scored Artisan Bakery. Owner Mary Keim of Holmes County, who previously worked as a science teacher in Sweden, bakes six varieties of bread as well as pastries in the European tradition, of which were introduced at Crafty Steere in December.

Her breads are Country Blonde, Cinnamon Raisin, Jalapeno Cheddar, Seeded Multigrain, Cranberry Walnut Orange and Roasted Garlic, sold from $9 to $10.75 a loaf.

On Friday, Keim cut her 32-layer croissant dough into croissant shapes and rolled them before leaving the pastries to proof, or left the yeast rise, for the next day.

"It's a process but I really enjoy it," said Keim, who has an Amish background and worked at Pandora's Cupcakes during college. "I like to make everything the most traditional way possible."

Also Friday, chef Gaetano Ricci of Strongsville was to deliver his Dolce Amore biscotti to Vanessa Jacot, Crafty Steere's specialty foods consultant. Another brand new product displayed in a front case were elaborate, three-layer cakes by Maria's of Akron. The chocolate cakes are infused with Guinness and buttercream frostings are blended with Bailey's and Jim Beam aged bourbon.

Also new at Crafty Steere in the last month is Thumann's deli meats and specialty cheeses. The store started with carrying four-packs of Thumann's pushcart-style, all-beef hot dogs last May.

From bakery to specialty market

"This is a big thing: Transforming from a bakery into a specialty market seems to be what we've done," said Steere, who also owns Springside Athletic Club in Montrose and is co-president and CFO of Steere Enterprises in Tallmadge.

Along with all the new foods, customers can continue to get their West Point Market food fix, including five original-recipe cheese spreads: Our Bar, The Other Spread, South of the Border, Smokey Joe and Cocktail Supreme. Other West Point foods are its original signature coffee blends; tarragon chicken, egg and tuna salads; thumbprint cookies and a variety of triple-layer brownies.

In the future, Steere plans to delve into the lunch business with both hot and cold grab-and-go sandwiches and eventually soups.

Folks should also keep an eye out for the Crafty Steere hot dog truck. It'll be offering Thumann's hot dogs on buns made by the Bake Shoppe in Ghent next month at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, after selling them there for several months last year.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Crafty Steere branches out into steaks, European-style breads, more