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Albert’s Meat Market fonds

https://www.cjhn.ca/link/cjhn101113
Collection
Albert’s Meat Market fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
1 file textual material; 31 photographs : b&w
Fonds No.
B0001
Date
1955 - 1975
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one trade publication article titled "Albert’s in Ottawa: A tale of two brothers and self-service meats" in Packaging News, October 1961; Two news clippings, 1966, 1975; 31 b&w photographs of the West End Meat Market on Mosgrove Street and Albert’s Meat Market on William Street.
More detail
Collection
Albert’s Meat Market fonds
Description Level
Fonds
Physical Description
1 file textual material; 31 photographs : b&w
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one trade publication article titled "Albert’s in Ottawa: A tale of two brothers and self-service meats" in Packaging News, October 1961; Two news clippings, 1966, 1975; 31 b&w photographs of the West End Meat Market on Mosgrove Street and Albert’s Meat Market on William Street.
Date
1955 - 1975
Fonds No.
B0001
Storage Location
A.1.1 - Individuals Boxes
History / Biographical
Albert’s Meat Market was owned and operated by brothers Morton and Archie Taller from 1955 to 1975. Morton (b. 1919, Ellenville, NY; d. 2010, Ottawa) and Archie (b. December 13,1921, Ottawa, d. March 5, 1997, Ottawa) were two of ten children born to Jacob and Ethyl Taller (nee Tallifsky). The Taller family returned to Ottawa from New York in 1921, and Morton attended Devonshire Public School and Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa. Both brothers were WWII veterans who decided to use their saved service pay to go into business together after returning to Canada in 1945. The Taller brothers initially operated the West End Meat Market, located first at 989 Wellington Street and then at 1013 Wellington Street. In 1951, they moved their meat business to Albert’s Meat Market, located at 7 Mosgrove Street and ran the shop together alongside their brother-in-law Morris Saslove. At the time, Morris Saslove was the president, Morton Taller was the vice-president and Archie Taller was the secretary-treasurer, although Morton Taller later took over as president when the brothers bought the shop in 1955. Albert’s was named for its original owner, Albert Dombrowski, who originally opened the shop on Elgin Street The brothers moved the business in 1956 to a new location at 71 William Street. The William Street location was located inside a two-storey building on the former site of a hardware store, and provided ample room for storing, processing, and displaying the store’s wares. Both brothers married and started families in the 1950s. Morton married Sally (nee Landau) Taller (b. ?, d. November 28, 2021) on July 5, 1951 at Congregation Machzikei Hadas. The couple had four children; Jay, Connie (Steinberg), Beverley (Zaifman), and Lynda (Wakter). Archie married Lillian Georgie (nee Pepper) Taller (b. June 3, 1932, d. March 11, 2005) on June 8, 1952 at Congregation Adath Jeshurun. Archie and Lillian had one son, Joel Taller, who married Gaye (nee Kaiman) Taller and had three children, Adam, Jayson, and Daniel. Both brothers and their wives were active in community organizations and charities. Archie was on the committee for the formation of the UJA youth division in 1953, and Morton was a treasurer of the United Jewish Appeal in 1965. Morton was also the Israel Bonds General Chairman in the 1980s, and was presented with the Prime Minister’s Club pin by the ambassador to Israel for his work for the UJA. Lillian Taller participated in the annual Hadassah Bazaar, and was active in the Ottawa Chevra Kadisha. The Ottawa Citizen called Albert’s “literally a small meat-packing plant” due to their extensive storage and processing capabilities. The store produced their own standard and special cuts of meat, as well as their own sausages. These were sold at the store front, which included window displays, five self-service counters, and two manual-service stands when it opened. When the WIlliam St. location was first opened, all butchers were required to wear black-brimmed caps. The store employed about 30 full-time and 10 part-time staff at a time, and claimed to be the “largest quality retail fresh meat operation in Canada.” Albert’s offered customers the option to buy their meat in bulk for a cheaper price, or to have their chosen cuts of meat delivered to any part of the city. In addition to the storefront, Albert’s had a back room for processing meat, and multiple deep freezers. The store specialized in beef, and only government inspected and graded Alberta beef was accepted. The main supplier used was Canada Packers. At first, Morris Saslove would personally pick out meat at packing houses, while later on the Tallers arranged to have it delivered to the store in 40,000 lbs. carloads. After being delivered, full carcasses were moved into large storage freezers. Most of the top floor of the two-story shop was taken up by a large refrigerated room, where meat was hung for several days. This “ageing” of the meat in a temperature controlled room allowed it to tenderize without spoiling. A second cooler downstairs was used for smaller sections of meat and another building across the street was purchased, with the entire top floor used as a deep-freeze room. Buying meat in bulk allowed the Taller brothers to reduce costs. Once meat was ready to be processed, it was moved to the preparation room, where as many as 20 people could be working at one time. There was a storage room, cutting room, and pre-package room located at the rear of the shop, and carcasses were transferred from room to room by overhead tracks. After being processed, cuts of meat were heat sealed, weighed, priced and labeled by an automatic machine, then moved into refrigerated showcases in the store. The store management had a friendly relationship with the cellophane distributor Kilgours, and their representative George Fraser, who visited once a week to check the Albert’s storeroom and see how much cellophane they needed. Albert’s found their success through a “self-service” model in which customers would choose the cuts of meat that they were interested in themselves. Morton Taller claimed that this method helped to increase efficiency and improve service to the customer. The Ottawa Citizen’s price comparison of meat shops and supermarkets in 1980 revealed that Albert’s had the lowest average price for cuts of meat across the city. Morton Taller attributed their low prices to the fact that the building had been paid for early on, and the management all worked full-time at the store, reducing their costs. Morton and Archie passed over their business to Ian Mackie and Frank Bisson in 1975. Ian Mackie had previously worked for his father’s meat store Mackie’s Meat Market on Somerset St., and had a management position with Canada Packers. Francois “Frank” Bisson had worked in meat management for 26 years, also with Canada Packers. In 1986, the store was moved to 1013 Wellington St. In total, the store changed hands four times, and was run by Frank Bisson’s son Daniel until its closure in 1995.
Archival / Genealogical
Archival Descriptions
Repository
Ottawa Jewish Archives
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