Fresh, Locally Grown and
Available to the Public
New AU Meats Lab Salesroom
Opens its Doors
By Lesley Bebeau, S pring Semester Intern


Drive along Shug Jordan parkway in Auburn these days and you'll notice more than just cows grazing along the roadside. On a hill just off the parkway are two brand new buildings—the Stanley P. Wilson Beef Unit and Lambert-Powell Meats Laboratory—surrounded by green grass and Auburn character.

The two buildings were dedicated in April, but they already have become a hub of activity, and one of those buildings—the Meats Laboratory—is fast becoming a shopping destination.

Auburn's new Porchetta pork product, steaks, ground beef and eggs lie in precise rows along the shelved refrigerators of the meats lab's shiny new salesroom. This is quite an improvement from the outdated former Lambert Meats Lab located on Donahue Drive. Just like a regular grocery store, the Lambert-Powell Meats Lab is open to the community and is always stocked.

Susan Dale, salesroom manager at Lambert-Powell Meats Laboratory, and Luca Nardi of Ariccia Partners, show off Auburn’s new Porchetta pork product, one of the many products available at the new meats lab salesroom.

According to Susan Dale, Lambert-Powell salesroom manager, the new meats lab and beef teaching unit together cost some $7 million to build and took several years to become a reality.

Dale says the actual move to the new meats lab began in October 2004, but by the time the building received final inspections and approval, the opening date to the community for meat and egg sales was Jan. 26, 2005.

“What's so nice about the new lab is that we have a state-of-the-art facility to serve the community, university and state,” Dale says. “We have more room here to do better research and more room for teaching classes and labs.”

Porchetta is proudly supported at the meat salesroom, selling in smaller single-meal portions or in bulk, along with the other products offered.

“We're having a lot of fun with that (porchetta). We're just trying to help it get started in the United States,” Dale says.

Dale says ground beef and steaks are sold the most to the Auburn community and to people from as far as Tuskegee, Lake Martin and Montgomery. From faculty and staff to college students and Auburn citizens, some will not leave the house over the holidays to go to the grocery store to get eggs if they run out. Dale says her customers say they can taste a difference between eggs from the Auburn University poultry research farm and the grocery store.

“The big thing that the townspeople like is the meat is fresh and it's from university animals. They know where it's coming from and who is handling it,” Dale says.

The new meat salesroom is open for business to everyone. It is located at 500 Shug Jordan Parkway. Susan Dale can be reached at 334-844-1566 for special and bulk orders. Hours are Monday through Thursday 2:00-5:00 p.m. and Friday 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
<< top