The Bichelmeyer Family

The Bichelmeyer family has practiced the butcher’s trade in Kansas City, Kansas across five generations — a German line stretching back to the 1880s. Their shop, Bichelmeyer Meats, founded in 1946 and still family-run, is a beloved KCK institution famous in recent years for its weekend taqueria.

Biography

The family’s craft dates to Mathias Bichelmeyer, a professional butcher who came to Kansas City, Kansas from Füssen, Germany in 1880 and worked for Swift and Company; his son George Bichelmeyer opened his first meat market in 1906 (it closed after the 1908 flood).¹ The current business was founded when John F. Bichelmeyer established Bichelmeyer Meats in 1946.¹

The business has survived repeated disaster: the Great Flood of July 13, 1951 destroyed the market, and a fire on April 5, 1995 consumed it after roof repairs.¹ John’s sons Jim and Joe Bichelmeyer joined and purchased the business in 1976, rebuilt after the fire, and reopened in January 1996.¹ The shop, at 704 Cheyenne Avenue in KCK, became known well beyond its neighborhood — including for a Saturday taqueria run out of the butcher counter, serving tacos, tamales, and quesadillas.² A fifth generation, grandson Matt Bichelmeyer, is now involved in the business.²

Legacy

Across five generations of butchers — Mathias to George to John to Jim and Joe to Matt — the Bichelmeyers have embodied the meatpacking heritage of “Cowtown” Kansas City, Kansas, turning an Old World trade into a lasting local institution and, more recently, a cross-cultural KCK food destination.

See also

• bichelmeyer-meats

Sources

Footnotes

1. “History,” Bichelmeyer Meats (bichelmeyermeatskc.com/about/history) — Mathias Bichelmeyer (Füssen, 1880, worked for Swift); George Bichelmeyer’s 1906 market (closed after the 1908 flood); John F. Bichelmeyer founded the current business 1946; Great Flood July 13, 1951; Jim & Joe purchase 1976; fire April 5, 1995; January 1996 reopening. (Note: “five generations” is a family/trade lineage — Mathias → George → John → Jim/Joe → Matt — not five generations of one continuous business; Bichelmeyer Meats itself dates to 1946.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. “In Kansas City, Kansas, Bichelmeyer Meats Offers Housemade Chorizo, Polish Sausages, Street Tacos and More,” Feast Magazine; Visit Kansas City KS — Saturday taqueria at 704 Cheyenne Avenue; grandson Matt Bichelmeyer involved. ↩ ↩²