Passing The Torch At Sobies

A local butcher shop can feel like a utility until you realize it’s also a meeting place, a fundraiser engine, and a thread that holds a neighborhood together. That’s why the ownership transition at Sobie Meats in Walker, Michigan matters, and why we wanted to talk about it while it’s still fresh and real. Host Nicole DiDonato is joined by original owner Tim Sobie and new owner Amy Jones for an honest look at what changes, what stays, and what it takes to protect a community institution. 

Tim shares the personal turning point that made retirement urgent, how he and his family thought through selling versus closing, and why Amy felt like the right person almost instantly. Amy opens up about stepping into the meat industry from a different background, learning quickly, and leading with humility while the existing team keeps the day-to-day running strong. One of the biggest takeaways: continuity is built on people, and this handoff works because the staff stays, the culture stays, and the trust stays. 

We also talk about community giving as part of the Sobie's identity, from supporting first responders and veterans to Amy’s passion for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan and Beautiful You by Profile. Looking forward, Amy wants to keep the hometown feel while exploring careful modernization, including potential online ordering that doesn’t erase the in-store experience. If you care about small business succession planning, local food, and what keeps Walker’s local businesses thriving, this conversation will stick with you. 

Subscribe to Maiden Walker, share this with a neighbor who loves local businesses, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s the local shop you’d fight to keep in your community?

If you have comments about this podcast, or ideas for future episodes, please email us at PODCAST@WALKER.CITY

Transcript

Welcome To Maiden Walker

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Welcome to Maiden Walker, a podcast that connects you to the people, the stories, and the ideas shaping our community. From local innovators to everyday change makers, we're diving deep into what makes Walker a great place to live, work, and grow. Here's your host, Nicole DiDonato.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Soby meets more than just a local butcher shop. It has really become a special place for the city of Walker and really much of the West Side. It's going through a transition and here to talk about that transition, what happens next, even what stays the same. We have original owner Tim Sobey and new owner Amy Jones. Thank you both so much for making time out of your busy schedules to meet with us. Thank you for having us. Yes. Very exciting.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Your schedule is way busier than mine.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Right now, you are just easing out into retirement, Tim. So all this, we we'd heard the news maybe late last year, late 2025. Now all that's kind of becoming really um really real now. What made you want to kind of you know step away after 22 years or so?

SPEAKER_03 1:09

Uh probably the biggest thing a couple of years ago is um it was public knowledge had heart issues, and thought, man, if I'd have checked out at that time, left everything to Teresa, um, that would have been quite a bit. So we've kind of been thinking about selling anyway. And then this opportunity came up just this last year with Amy.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

So uh made it all work out great.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yeah. And after speaking with Amy, what was it about her that made you feel like okay, this would be a comfortable transition for us?

SPEAKER_03 1:40

Probably within about three seconds, you love Amy. If it takes that long. And just the first meeting that we had, even just to discuss that, and we left there. I mean, we didn't even leave the meeting, and Teresa and I are like, we love that girl. Like, that's somebody that's gonna that has a passion um of future things to go. She's got some great ideas of future growth for so we meet. So I think she's gonna take that to the next level anyway. But she just has that natural warming characteristic about her.

Amy Takes The Leap

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Yes, yeah. The important thing about you too is that you're both family businesses, Amy coming off of kind of almost four generations of Andy Egan, correct? Yes, right. Yeah, we're the fourth generation. Yes. And so going from that construction background into um, you know, entrepreneur spirits as well, what has that transition been like? And what was it about Sobies that drew you to them?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Um, so prior to the fall, or I mean late fall, I didn't really Sobies was not on my mind by any means. And it was a mutual friend, pretty much, or um acquaintance that kind of put us in contact. And it was similar to how Tim said, like within the first, well, the first meeting, the first few minutes, I'm like, if you know Tim and Teresa, like I just fell in love with them. And I'm just like, okay, I know nothing about the meat business, but here we go. I think it's gonna be part of the bigger plan and the bigger, you know, vision, maybe. Um, and then coming from construction, there's you know, some commonalities, but it it is definitely a different industry, that's for sure. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

What are you learning about um the meat industry, the butcher shop? Oh gosh. I'm sure there's a lot that surprised you.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

There's a lot, and I'm still learning. Uh the team is fantastic and they're so patient with me. And I'm just trying to stay out of the way. And yeah, there it's just an amazing team there.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

And that's the important thing too, is uh when you think maybe about changing ownerships as far as businesses, what's gonna happen to the staff. So what were you able to make happen?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Uh no one has left. Um, and that was very important because it is uh it's a fan, well, it is a family company and it's a family feel there, and everybody is just fantastic. And um, so far, like I said, the biggest thing I can do is just stay out of the way. They got it covered, everybody's, you know, doing great, and it's just going along like it always has.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Yeah. And Tim, you're kind of easing into retirement, not fully out of the the um the shop just yet, kind of sticking around doing some things. How is that transition going? And is it gonna be tough to, you know, not walk in there for a full week, a month uh down the road?

SPEAKER_03 4:12

I'm I'm kind of getting used to it. And for many years, this is this is my analogy is you know, as as kids, you were on the merry ground and you run, then you get on, and you're your friend pushes you on the merry ground and it gets going really fast. Now you're going, how do you get off without getting hurt, right? You jump off. Um, so this part has been really nice to start kind of sliding out and not just okay, you signed the papers, you left on Saturday, and then you're all done on Tuesday. This has really been nice to kind of slow down a little bit instead of just stop.

Protecting The Team Culture

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yes, yeah. And and you've got I'm getting used to it though. Thank you. You know, we want you to enjoy that retirement. But um, and you've done so much, giving back so much to the community as well. You also support local growers, farmers, small businesses too. Um, looking back at 22 years, what uh what are some of the things that you're proud of?

SPEAKER_03 5:08

Um Teresa and I were not ones to say, you know, look what we did, right? But there's a great sense of accomplishment helping whether it's an organization or just a family, you know, there's cancer hits, you know, you have a fundraiser. And I think that's probably one of the things that has been the nicest is to be involved that way. It might sound corny or cheesy, but it's the truth, and um helping out other other ones that need help, right? And um so it that feels a little bit different as ones that come in every year because they have their regular fundraiser and we're not the ones at the helm of the ship. It's kind of like, okay, leave your hand off, you know, you don't have anything to do with that now.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Yes, yes. You've evolved the the place so much too. So Amy, what are some of your passions that you're excited to kind of bring to Sobies and looking into the next Yes as far as like the charities and organizations and things like that?

SPEAKER_00 6:11

Definitely want to keep what Tim and Teresa have been going, you know, have been doing over the years with the first responders and veterans and things like that. That's so important and means a lot to me as well. So I want to continue those efforts for sure. Um a couple other ones that I'm um you know passionate about is um the Make a Wish Um Foundation of Michigan. So um I do a lot with Make a Wish. Um and then also Beautiful You um by profile. So that's a local, very local organization and um charity over on Alpine there and helping out women and children um with that are going through the cancer process and whatnot and kind of spoiling them for the day and giving them the appointments that they look forward to um instead of maybe those, you know, the pokes and the procedures and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yes, yeah. That's such an integral part, it seems, that that Sobies has really become is just kind of uh caring for the community more ways than one.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

So then did you have maybe somebody in the family that helped beautiful you get started?

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Yeah, so beautiful you it is more um so my mom helped out um a little bit with the the um women that um founded it and whatnot. And so is a longtime friend. Um, and just when the time came, it it worked out, and my mom was able to be part of that. And so now there's a the wig room is named after my grandmother who um did go through some cancer um stints through you know in her life. And so it is more of a um personal uh organization too, that just and they're doing great things, so want to support them.

Charity Roots And Side Ventures

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yeah, that was wonderful to hear. And um a little bit of uh a connection between you know the wig room, but also another venture that you have too is Benji Salon, also in Walker, Standale in particular. Um two very different businesses, you know. So um, but again, at the at the core, business is probably all you know, you run it the same, but what's that been like in balancing those two um opposites?

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Well, the um salon came uh a few years ago, 2022, um, and that was a passion project. It was uh me and a couple girlfriends and um really brought it to life. And again, I know nothing about hair, I know nothing about that industry, and it has again it's all about the people. And and it's an amazing group of women there um that really run it and on the day-to-day things. And then I have a dance studio in Marne, and same thing, a great um set of people there um that's running that. So, you know, dance, hair, and meet, you know, they don't necessarily go together, but it this is where we're met. So here we go. Yes, lots of things to to learn. That's gonna be exciting. It is, you know, it's extremely exciting. And again, it's just uh I've been so fortunate because it is all about the people. And so now, I mean the people that I'm learning I'm meeting and getting it to know at Sobies is just it's broadening that network, and it's it's just great. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

And Tim, how did you kind of break the news to your uh workers as well? Uh again, being just so tight-knit, just you know, there's a new mom coming in or so, you know, new parents taking over. How's that?

SPEAKER_03 9:05

Well, Amy was willing to be thrown under the bus. So I was there. Yeah. So um so we took a Saturday, uh, the end of the day, and this is this is pretty big, right? And um, so we wanted to tell everybody firsthand and introduce Amy to the whole staff. So ones that weren't working on that Saturday, we called everybody up, gave them the opportunity to stop in, and um, we're having a team meeting that was shortly before Christmas, just a couple weeks ahead of time. So I think everybody was figuring, yeah, well, okay, what are the hours we're working, you know, because well, there's other things you do behind the scenes that uh the community doesn't see. So had the meeting and introduced Amy, and you know, it was a little bit of pull to pin through the grenade in the room.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

And I was expecting more of a like explanation when he just like first things out of his mouth. I'm like, oh, here we go. Okay, this is this is happening. Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 10:03

Yeah, you got a Christmas miracle, you got a new boss.

unknown 10:06

That's what it was, too.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

You know, succession planning is just it is very important in business. And was there a time where you were just wondering, you know, what your options would be? Would you close up, or how did that look when you're you know thinking about retirement?

SPEAKER_03 10:21

Um being a business owner, I you know, if you don't sell, then you're just closing up. So certainly you have a better retirement package if you can sell, right? And I know through the years, customers come in when are you gonna retire? Well, we we got a monkey on our back first, right? Yeah, and we have to sell the business before we can retire. And um, this the whole thing, I I just thank God, you know, just he was the one he was instrumental that just using he's the puppeteer that put us together and made it all happen. And it's nothing less than a God thing that the right person is coming in and uh keeping our whole staff, and it's just incredible. Deals like this don't happen every day, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

And as fast as it happened, correctly. Yeah, like six weeks. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 11:14

You can't buy a house in six weeks.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Yes, love that it's you know, being kept local, that's so important as well. Very much so. Um, Tim, we had you back on a podcast uh uh earlier last year, and um I was mentioning to you it it's cons people are can continuously downloading it. So your story really resonated with a lot of folks. They love hearing about that, how you got your start. Um, what does that feel like? Just knowing that there was so much community support for you, and you built that up, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:41

Yeah. And well, back in the day, I was like thousands of others, laid off from steel case. Uh Teresa was downsized from heart for an insurance after 27 years. And so we really started from nothing in the community that embraced us and have supported us for 22 years. There, there's nothing like that. And I think part of that story is um the old saying is when a door closes, a window opens, that no matter what happens in life, there's hope, right? Keep the faith, there's something out there, he won't let you down. So I think maybe that's something that people can connect to also.

Retirement Plans Plus Modernizing Sobies

SPEAKER_01 12:23

That perspective. Yeah. And so looking forward, what is uh something you're looking forward to in retirement? A couple uh new people.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Be in the grounds keeper, right? Amy knows that. So you know, and tell Theresa, hey, there's a stick on the trail, you know, I gotta go, gotta go pick that out. So, you know, just kind of spend more time up north. Uh, we got a couple trips that uh that we want to do this year. And um one actually we have traveling friends who've been trying to do this for like three, four years now, is to go to Maine and then up into Nova Scotia. And um, I don't know if I can say it or not. Well, yeah, it's it's your podcast, but um the the show on History Channel, the Curse of Oak Island, um, real watchers of that show. And a year ago, Christmas, our kids got us um a trip to go out to the island. So so in Nova Scotia, then we'll do a boat trip. And um, so we just talked to the guy day before yesterday to book it, and there's another thing that you didn't do a tram on the island, so it's like can't wait. Can't wait. So they're gonna they're gonna find the treasure while we're there.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

So oh my goodness, wonderful. Good for you. You deserve that, and then Amy looking forward as well, kind of where do you picture things?

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Or thinking big picture a year from now or so, but I know it's and yes, hopefully in a year, and I've said this to multiple people at the store. All right, I'm hoping in a year I'll have more uh opinions and maybe input right now. I'm just soaking it in and trying to be a sponge and just learning it. Um and maybe in a year there won't be a change in the feel of the store. Don't want to change any of that. The um the local feel, the customer interaction, the um just the hometown part of it. It's that's not going anywhere or whatever. But maybe in a year there might be some other, you know, additions, maybe some kind of like online ordering or things like that. So it doesn't change the store feel, but maybe some more modernization type things. Absolutely.

Closing Thanks And Listener Email

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Yeah, wonderful. Well, it's been such a pleasure having you both in studio and so happy to see that Sobies will continue thriving and being that vibrant community hub that the mayor likes to talk about, that pulse check, one of the places in Walker you could really go meet your neighbors, find out what's going on in the community. So happy retirement to you, Tim. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

Appreciate you having us in. Yes, thank you. Beautiful bloody Mary. Thank you, Nicole.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Yeah, we treat we treat our guests right now, my goodness. So it's been a pleasure. And thank you both so much. Or thank you for tuning in too.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Maiden Walker Podcast. If you have comments or questions about this podcast, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us an email at podcast at walker.city. Maiden Walker is the official podcast of the city of Walker, Michigan. You can find Maiden Walker wherever you get your podcasts.