Sommers grew up in Grand Rapids and got his start right out of high school cutting meat at his father’s shop, Lewandowski’s Meat Market.

“I graduated Memorial Day weekend in 1982 and he said, ‘You are not going to college, you are going to work and learn something,'” Sommers said. “Here we are 40 years later, still cutting meat, something I never figured I would be doing.”

Sommers’ wife, Chris, is from Crystal Falls and introduced him to the Upper Peninsula. He said he immediately fell in love with the region.

Sommers said he wanted to have his own shop, as he enjoys the customer service aspect of the business. So in 1992, the Sommers purchased the former Fredericks Finer Foods, a mom-and-pop grocery store on Superior Avenue.

SOMMERS SAUSAGE SHOP is at 1370 Commercial Ave. in Crystal Falls. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

Sommers said there was no money in groceries, so they transitioned away from the grocery side to focus on a deli. In addition to fresh-cut meat and Sommers’ own sausages, the deli featured sandwiches, burgers and soups.

Soon after, Sommers Sausage Shop began to process wild game from the back of the shop.

“We like to take care of the customers,” Sommers said. “With our wild game business, we have got people that have been coming to us since 1992. We have a clientele that loves what we do.”

In 2003, Sommers Sausage Shop opened up the meat processing facility on Commercial Avenue, for a time operating in both locations. After 25 years, Sommers closed the downtown location in 2016 to slow down and focus on the meat processing and sausage making.

In addition to wild game, Sommers Sausage Shop processes livestock — cattle, swine, lambs, goats, even buffalo.

Sommers said while he does not process them, he often takes in turkey, ducks and geese to make sausage.

The start of bear season this month means the busy time of the year has arrived for Sommers Sausage Shop, so he brings in two more employees in addition to the two who work full-time. With the weather still warm, a bear can spoil overnight, so Sommers often works late into the evening.

During the deer hunt, Sommer said he may process up to 500 deer, depending on the luck of hunters.

Sommers takes great pride in his reputation, he said — customers know they’ll get back what they brought in, whether livestock or wild game.

“It is all their own — they shot it, they cleaned it, they get it back,” Sommers said. “We do what we are supposed to do and we are very good at what we do.”

Sommers Sausage Shop meats are available exclusively at the shop. Sommers offers jerky, snack sticks, bratwurst, Italian sausage, Polish sausage, cudighi, kielbasa, German wieners and bacon. Old favorites that used to be available at the deli and are no longer made regularly can be made by special order. All sausages are made with Sommers’ own recipes, which he said are like no other.

As for the future of Sommers Sausage Shop, Sommers said the business is up for sale and that he is thinking about retirement.

“Forty-two years of cutting meat — I am ready to go,” Sommers said. “It would be a great business for somebody who wants to work, somebody who loves this stuff.”

Sommers Sausage Shop’s hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, but Sommers recommends calling before stopping out.