With a mixture of sadness and excitement, the owners of Herb's Meats closed up their Boulder location on Friday after 33 years in the same store. They plan to re-open in Broomfield in April.

Richard Grass, co-owner with his wife Kristine, said the market had simply become too crowded in Boulder for an independent butcher shop to survive.

In particular, the opening of Whole Foods, where customers could get high-quality meat along with the rest of their groceries, took a big toll on Herb's business, Grass said.

“We could make a move, or we could go out of business,” Grass said. “And we like what we do, and we like being in business for ourselves. I think it's going to be a good thing for us.”

Grass said it seems that many long-time customers have moved out of Boulder. Regular customers would become infrequent customers, and when he inquired, they would respond that they'd moved to Arvada or Westminster or Broomfield.

The Grasses live in Broomfield, and the area around the new location, at the intersection of U.S. 287 and 10th Street, has fewer grocery stores, no specialty meat retailers, more families and, it seems, a more carnivorous population.

“When we walk our dog here at night, especially in the summer, every house has a grill going, sometimes two grills or a grill and a smoker,” Grass said, whereas in Boulder, people seem to prefer sushi.

Herb Dillard opened Herb's Quality Meats in 1977. The Grass family took over the business
Victor Magana, of Broomfield Sign Company, takes down the sign from Herb's Meats in the Basemar Shopping Center in Boulder on Friday. Herb's will soon move to Broomfield. (Kasia Broussalian)
in 1996, and Richard Grass, now of Broomfield, has been the owner since 2006.

Grass planned to close on Saturday but sold out of his remaining product before the weekend. On Friday, the sign in the Basemar Shopping Center was down, the store dark, empty and locked. Signs posted in the window directed customers to the Broomfield location, starting in April.

Grass said it was strange and a little sad to stand in the empty store that represented 15 years of his life, but he's also excited about the new possibilities. The Broomfield location will have its own smokehouse to make jerkies and summer sausage. The store will have the ability to prepare briskets or even entire pigs for catered events, and hunters can bring in game for processing and smoking.

It also will have lower rent and a much more efficient layout for workers. Herb's appears likely to receive a property tax rebate from Broomfield for re-locating there, but Grass said that is not the primary reason for the move.

Eric Swanson, property manager for Basemar, said there isn't another tenant lined up for the space at 2530 Baseline Road.

“We're sad that they're leaving,” he said. “They've been a great tenant and an asset to the community.”

Basemar does have a new tenant lined up for another vacancy. A Goodwill retail and donations location is expected to open later this year in the spot left vacant when Ace Hardware closed in September 2008.

Loyal customers said they would follow Herb's to Broomfield.

Ryan McGuire, a software salesman who discovered Herb's just last year after more than five years in Boulder, said there's nowhere else in Boulder that matches Herb's.

“I'm from the Northeast, where these mom-and-pop places were all over the place,” he said. “That's the way I grew up. They have great customer service. If they didn't have something, they'd get it for you.”

He said he would make the trip to Broomfield to support a locally owned business, particularly for special occasions.

David Swanson, another longtime customer, said Herb's kielbasa was better than any he had growing up in Milwaukee.

“We love Herb's Meats,” he said in an e-mail to the Camera. “We buy our Polish pork kielbasa from there. They are the only ones that make it in this area.”

Contact reporter Erica Meltzer at 303-473-1355 or meltzere@dailycamera.com.