Northside Market – 25 years of fantastic food | Business Hub

Northside Market in Ludington has everything you need and even more than you would think! Much more than a butcher shop, Northside offers hot meals and deli items sure to tickle your tastebuds.

“People see that our place is small so they might not know that we also have lamb, veal, beef and more in the back that I can haul out and cut up fresh right then and there,” said Mike Kruger, who has owned Northside Market for 25 years. “I have a sign front that says ‘If you don’t see what you’re looking for please ask.’ I want our customers to know that if they can dream it, we have it.”

Located at the intersection of Washington and Bryant streets, Northside Market – open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – is small in size, but enormous in reputation and customer satisfaction.

Mike barely takes time off, he loves his job so much: “I come in every day, open up, get things organized. I like being here. I like coming in. I like seeing the people.”

He adds, “We have great employees and great customers. We base what we do on providing fresh products and full service – friendly service. We’re a neighborhood store, just a little market that serves a lot of customers.”

Looking for a satisfying, hot meal you can grab and eat on the go? Look no further than Northside Market.

“We have a whole case of hot food up front that we cook every day – fried chicken, pizza and more – just a huge assortment of food. We have three fryers in the back and they’re going, constantly. Our chicken is better than most restaurants; it’s jumbo, when you buy a piece of chicken here you get a nice sized piece of meat. People will come in and order mass quantities of our food and then come back and pick it up, we always make time for that.”

Mike said most of his beef comes from Aberdeen, South Dakota, because “it’s all choice and prime, real good stuff. Our pork comes from Iowa. Our other meats from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, it’s all a matter of quality. They come off from feedlots where they are raised properly, fed properly and all that’s what makes good beef. I cut that meat fresh, every day, all day long.”

Beyond all the meats, Mike said that some of their freshly prepared deli items are big sellers as well.

“Our chicken salad and our cheese spread are also popular. People come from miles around for our cheese spread that we make fresh and have been making fresh for years and years and years. There’s different kinds of cheese in it, and there’s pineapple in it, too. Everybody knows what it is and how good it tastes and if they don’t know what it is, or if they haven’t had it before, they come in and ask, ‘Hey, what’s that famous dip you guys have?’”

Mike said that many of his customers are hard-working, blue-collar folks. “People who are working stop in here all the time, every day,” he said. “People come in for a fast lunch and then they’ll take it and eat on the job. A lot of contractors come in, so do landscapers, they all come in and grab their lunch, their dinner, or whatever.”

Don’t forget you can also purchase fuel at Northside. “We have recreation fuel that is quite popular for boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, chainsaws and all that kind of stuff,” Mike said. “Of course, we also have our regular no-lead gas, plus diesel – we have three pumps out there for that.”