We had the opportunity recently to give a bison customer a tour of the ranch. This is Executive Chef Wai Phyo Aung and John Fischer, owner of Jordan’s Western Dining. It is always an eye-opening experience to witness the work behind the scenes, learning what it takes to breed, raise and care for the Durham Ranch Bison. There is nothing like knowing exactly where your food is coming from!
The Durham Ranch Managers have left the property! Hard to believe when there is so much to be done this time of year!
John and Gaylynn Flocchini attended the National Restaurant Association’s, NRA Show 2014 in Chicago over the weekend to support the Durham Ranch Brand of Natural and Sustainable Meats. It was great to see them off the farm and folks really enjoyed talking bison with real ranchers. Knowing where your food is coming from, and one step further, knowing who raised your food… it was such a opportunity and experience for many at the show. Thanks for being there John & Gaylynn!
PRESS RELEASE:
It is with great pride that we announce that Sierra Meat and Seafood of Reno Nevada, along with our sister company, Durham Ranches Inc. of Wyoming, have entered into a purchase agreement with the Strube Ranch of Texas to purchase Strube Gourmet Wagyu Meat and all their Wagyu cattle on feed. The Strube family shall maintain ownership of their ranch in Texas along with the Wagyu cow calf operation there.
Sierra Meat and Seafood and the Durham Ranch are owned and operated by the Flocchini family. Sierra Meat and Seafood is run by Chris J Flocchini in Reno Nevada and the Durham Ranch is run by John Flocchini III, in Wright, Wyoming. The Strube Ranch is located in Pittsburgh, Texas and is owned and operated by Larry and Linda Strube along with their daughter Tia Strube Ables and her husband Zane Ables.
This new partnership will allow our families, Strube and Flocchini, to concentrate on our respective areas of expertise, and continue to meet the growing demand for All Natural Wagyu Beef.
Sierra will be responsible for the meat sales and distribution of Strube Ranch Wagyu Beef, Durham Ranch will be procuring Wagyu feeders from the Strube Ranch, and the Strube family will look to expand its Wagyu cow calf operation in order to grow the supply of Wagyu feeders.
Sierra Meat and Seafood processes and distributes the Durham Ranch Brand of natural and sustainable specialty meats to over 100 foodservice and retail customers throughout the United States. Durham Ranch, located in Wright, Wyoming, is one of the largest bison ranches in North America which has been owned and operated by Flocchini family for 50 years. The Strube Ranch has been one of the pre-eminent Wagyu ranch operators in North America and the Strube family has been Ranching in east Texas for over 100 years.
The deal successfully closed on May 5th, 2014.
With the demand for healthier options a growing reality around the globe, the Durham Ranch team embarked on a reconnaissance mission to Hawaii to spread the word about bison as a protein alternative. They met with long time Executive Chef Perry Bateman of the famous Mama’s Fish House on Maui’s north shore. Chef Perry serves over 30,000 meals a month and was eager to hear about the health attributes of bison meat and sustainable ranching on Durham Ranch.
In total the mission encompassed visiting with chefs and managers from multiple properties on Maui and Oahu, as well as our distributor friends at VIP. Each visit was met with a great deal of enthusiasm about the Durham Ranch and the possibility of using bison meat on their menus.
When combining healthy and sustainable, Durham Ranch Bison is an excellent choice!
Photo: Maui Jim/aka “Uncle Buck”, Gaylynn and John working hard on Maui!
In visiting a restaurant, patrons were once interested mostly in the taste of the food and the ambiance. While that still holds true, the push for sustainable, local and organic skyrocketed, and it became just as important to find out about the mission of the restaurant. Where do they obtain their food? Are they supporting local farms? Do they use the freshest ingredients? All of this while still, of course, maintaining a menu you can sink your teeth into and an ambiance you love to experience. 
Any time you order Durham Ranch from the menu, you can be assured that the meat was raised in a natural and sustainable way, and likely came from a small family farm or ranch. But what about the greens? … why, they’re on the walls! Read more…
