March 7, 2024
By: Katherine Trowbridge
Cody and Jen Hoseth with their son Wyatt in the meat processing side of their building located in downtown Connell. Their meat market will open on March 9.
Lone Crow is set to open in downtown Connell this weekend. The Grand Opening will feature an outdoor barbecue for the community.
Lone Crow is a ranching and meat processing operation owned by Cody and Jen Hoseth. These first generation ranchers strive to raise quality cattle, feed them quality feeds, and provide quality cutting and wrapping for your beef and pork.
The couple moved their ranch to Eltopia from the Loon Lake area (north of Spokane) in September of 2022. They still have a small operation up north but truly enjoy the ranching our area provides, as winters are much more intense up north. They still host a small store at Loon Lake and operate what they call their north pasture. Overall, they have settled in nicely to life in the Columbia Basin.
In September of 2023, they purchased the former Bank of America building in downtown Connell from Desert Labor. Jen stated, “It is way more space than we really need, but it’s what was available. Connell is really close to Eltopia and it’s a really nice town and this building was available…” so they went for it.
On the processing side they have an area set up at their ranch in Eltopia where the meat is slaughtered and the carcasses chilled and cured. They then bring them to the store for custom processing and packaging in Connell. Their crew was busy slicing and wrapping bacon during our interview, which had been smoked the day before. Needless to say, it smelled pretty good in the shop.
Custom cuts can range from $3.75/lb hanging weight for a whole to $4.25/lb hanging weight for a quarter beef. While they process their own beef and pork products, they do also offer custom cuts and have done 25 orders since mid November.
Single cuts, hams, hamburger, and other products will be available at their meat market opening March 9. They are also looking to bring in more local products to the storefront.
Currently, they offer Spiceology, a Spokane based company, along with honey grown five miles from their north pasture, and Black Milk (Idaho) specialized meat sauces. Their future goal is to start offering marinated and fresh (not just frozen) meats and listen to the customers to offer more of what they are looking for.
Their small family is growing along with their business. They have a two year old son, Wyatt, and a baby on the way.
The Hoseths look forward to celebrating with the community on March 9 from 11 am to 2 pm. with a parking lot get-together featuring free burgers and shopping at the store. The storefront will be open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
They added, “We’re really excited to get everything set up. We really love it down here. Our whole life is agriculture and raising animals. We’ve been loving it down here and the Connell Community has been super welcoming.”