By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Liberal Beef was a staple of the Claremont community for more 50 years before closing its doors last year, but the business will be back up and running next month under new ownership, and the community response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Derek Ferland, who is also the Sullivan County manager, and his wife Elizabeth purchased the business and are currently going through the final stages before getting the business open for the public to enjoy. Residents will surely be lining up once again to grab their prime rib around the holidays, or picking up a bulk package of ground chuck, sausages and more, or simply just coming in to grab a few steaks for a barbecue.
“Anyone who is from Claremont knows Liberal Beef, as it is kind of a community institution,” Ferland said. “I grew up in Claremont and went to West Terrace Elementary School, which is quite literally around the corner. I remember going in there as a kid, so I had been in and out of there my whole life.”
Ferland explained that Liberal Beef was originally owned by Victor and Dawna Jangel since the early 1970s. It originally started as a meat market, but they changed the name when Vic took over. The Jangels owned the business, and in later years it was run by their son Jeff and his wife Cindy.
After Vic’s passing last September, they decided to close up shop and Liberal Beef closed Nov. 15, 2024. Ferland said the community loved the products they offered, the value and the freshness, and it was sorely missed.
“It was a cool vestige of a time where there were neighborhood stores all over the city, but no other store specialized in meat the way Liberal did,” Ferland said.
Ferland said he and friends were together at a combination Christmas/birthday party and half joking they all said they should get together and buy Liberal Beef. However, as time went on, Ferland and his wife thought they should actually look into this prospect. When the listing came out in early January they started “kicking the tires” and talking to Claremont Savings Bank about financing and what it would take.
“It all just came together and here we are,” Ferland said. “We thought it would be a great little venture, something different for us.”
Ferland works for the county and before that he had a career in the Air Force, and Elizabeth has been in municipal management here entire career. While this is new, the two have familiarity with finances and numbers, so they aren’t too intimidated by the business side of things. Ferland said this doesn’t mean they don’t have a bit to learn, and he is excited for the challenge.
“The first rule is to hire good people and stay out of their way, and that will be our plan of attack for this,” Ferland said. “The intent will be to have someone run it for us. We’ll still be involved in the background and available for questions, but the intent is to hand the keys off to someone who knows what to do.
Ferland said they are putting together a team as they speak with four employees already lined up, and looking for one or two more.
Ferland said the intent with the business is to “keep it pretty much the same as it was,” selling deli meat, fresh sliced bacon, cheese and all the meat you can imagine.
“Chicken, pork, beef, various cuts,” Ferland said. “They had pre-packaged items, so North Country Smokehouse products. They had some cheese, like Garfield Smokehouse and Cabot, and a couple freezers for frozen products like diced potatoes and ravioli.”
This is a baseline they want to start with, but Ferland said there are two changes they do want to make. One is an online store where people can order and pay online. This will be great for “freezer boxes,” where customers can order in bulk and avoid coming into the store.
“There are some pretty cool tools through Square where you can pull up to the parking lot, hit a button that says you’re there, and someone can run the package out to you,” Ferland said.
The second change is to lean into supporting more local products, and Liberal Beef will be a part of the Claremont Growers Collective.
“We want to bring the farmstand to the customer,” Ferland said. “The cool thing about all the great farm stands we have are that the products are amazing. Locally raised and grass fed, the whole nine yards, but it’s not convenient to drive around all over creation to find the products.”
Ferland wants to create a one stop shop to bring in these products and make it more convenient for people to find high quality, local items. This will include things like vegetables, pestos, dips, and other items made in Claremont and the surrounding region. Eventually Ferland wants to offer beer from the three breweries in the county (Protectworth, Rockingham Brewing and Hoptimystic Brewing) but this will be a future endeavor as they will need proper permitting.
Before opening, Liberal Beef is installing a loading dock in the back for optimal delivery services, a new roof and a few cosmetic refreshes.
The hype is extremely high for the opening. Last week they made the announcement on Facebook and it received more than 1,600 “likes,” and has been shared more than 515 times. It has also garnered plenty of comments in congratulatory fashion, with many saying how excited they are to be able to once again head to their location at 14 Terrace Street to pick up items like steaks, sausage, ground beef and beyond.
“We’ve got to be in place by Fourth of July so we are peddling as fast as we can,” Ferland said. “When you see the community response like this, it is pretty sweet. This is part of what makes Claremont an awesome place to live.”
