STANLEY'S SAUSAGES - why is there no discussion about what happened to them?

A couple of observations: (a) in my 6 years on the SW (and then Phx) board, Stanley's and other local "makers" didn't seem to get much play as compared to restaurants; and (b) over the past 18 months or so, much of the local online food discussion has moved to more active non-chow.com venues.

Now with that out of the way, I feel like everybody is in the dark as to what is really going on with Stanley's. I read the same reports as you, and yes, was happy to hear that Stanley's would be opening across the street. As far as the new place goes, I have no data--every time I've found myself over that way and hungry, it has been outside of their business hours.

Stanley's now exists in a small storefront on Bell Rd. Tue-Fri 9a-6p & Sat 9a-5p

1712 W Bell Road
Phoenix, AZ 85023

(602) 375-3999

Yelp link - http://www.yelp.com/biz/stanleys-home...

Actually in Dec 2012 I talked with the owners while picking up my kilbasa at the Bell location. I was told there that they had a fire at the McDowell location. But were to reopen across the street on McDowell. There was a problem holding them up on the land/building purchase though. Now there is a mention in Yelp that they were evicted from the Bell store. But I do not know if that is true or not. I am 36 and have a Polish heritage. While the rest of the family live near each other and make huge batches of Kilbasa twice a year. Stanley's is the closest to our carefully refined, tested, and cherished 8 generation recipie . If Stanley's local is gone it will truly be missed!!!!

The real scoop. Mr Stenovic (younger and elder) were playing shell games with money, and it eventually caught up to them. During this process, (about 2 years before they closed up shop) they got certified by USDA, and were therefore inspected daily. Now, for those of you not in the know, the USDA has lots and lots of regulations. Some of these, especially if you have been making sausage all your life in the Old World, seem ridiculous. For example, generations of sausage makers have been producing the best sausages around, without monitoring temperatures of ovens, or links etc... because they didnt have them, so you learn to pay close attention to what the sausage looks like, how it responds when you pinch it, when you break it in half, its color etc.

Now, is there anything wrong with this practice? No... unless you want to be a USDA plant, and to sell across state lines.

I believe, the USDA rule that got them in trouble, was when elder Stenovic, produced sausages on the weekend in his smokehouse, and rather than selling him out his front of shop, he packaged them and put the USDA bug on them, and sold them to US Foods. Huge, Huge no-no producing product without letting the inspectors know, and this was not the first time that happened. The other times had been caught prior to shipment, and the USDA tagged them. This time, they went to US Foods, and had to be recalled. This info is avail on the USDA recall website.

When you combined this, along with the money shell games, ended them up in huge, huge financial trouble, which is how Colley (whose main business was construction contracting) ended up with the business.

Colley, kept the same folks that had been working in the plant for years, and continues to produce sausages out of the McDowell address. He has since combined it with Shannon's Deli Meats (which operated under the name Briden Foods for 30 years). Where, again, he kept the same employees. They make roast beef, corned beef, pastrami, italian beef, etc. Their past customers include Bashas, Einsteins, Longs, Penn Station, (Mike and Mike loved their corned beef) and Cousins Subs. Now, i believe their biggest product line is Jerky for all the baseball stadiums in town.

So.. to break it down. The McDowell address, is now owned by Colley, and is still running using the same folks in the back and owns the rights to all the recipes that were produced there for years.

The Stenovic's retreated to the Bell Road store, and while he has a modest selection of meats, it is just him, and the selection of meats is tiny compared to their heyday.

Mr. Taster and friends!

More good news to report! The official name is now Stanley's Home Made Sausage Company (not "Stan's European Deli" or "Stanley's Homemade Polish Sausage" or who knows what else!) We now have TWO locations to serve Phoenix, the newest being on the Eastside (deli, restaurant and grocery) at 2945 E. Bell Rd. tel (602) 812-4800 and the one we moved to on the Westside from McDowell at 1712 W Bell Rd tel (602) 275-8788 (deli and grocery, will also serve up sandwiches in the near future). We will be launching the new website soon, but until then catch up with us at www.facebook.com/StanleysHomeMadeSaus...

Here's the lowdown for old and new friends alike:
Stanley's Homemade Sausage Company opened its doors in 1963. We specialize in the production and sale of European sausages, smoked & specialty meats, cheese, as well as European specialty grocery products. We have a deli, grocery, and restaurant section that serves up delicious sandwiches, homemade soups, pastries and various plates. Our Stanley's brand products are prepared fresh every day at our onsite processing plant. We cut and spice our products using our own homemade cures and spices, ferment them, as well as cook and smoke using state of the art facilities and equipment. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff is always ready and eager to trigger your senses!

And yes, we are still owned and operated by the Stevanovic family. Regarding the USDA, like some "marriages" we got off to a rocky start (miscommunication) but are now living happily-ever-after in carnivore bliss! We recalled the meat products in 2011 immediately after realizing they hadn't been inventoried correctly and missed inspection. As for "money shell games", we take the accusation seriously and would place in the category of defamation. "sausagegal" clearly does not have a clue as to what she is talking about. We welcome her to stop by our newest location to view and taste our "tiny" selection of over 150 deli items to see for herself.