Belleville Brothers Market has been a mainstay in downtown Bowling Green, and that isn’t set to change anytime soon.

The market was started by Archie Belleville 110 years ago. It has been located at 239 S. Main St. since 1950.

The fourth generation is now running the business.

Archie’s sons, Ivan and Russell, continued the tradition. Ivan had Mike and Jamie, while Russell had two daughters, neither of whom participate in the business.

Mike and Jamie, who died in November, represented the third generation.

“We’re still in a change over but it seems to be going pretty smooth at this point,” Mike said about working without his brother.

It may look the same, but things have changed over the years, he said.

“There’s been a lot of changes,” Mike said.

They are now raising their own cattle when before they purchased the beef, and they are making snack foods such as jerky in-house now. And while they used to do mainly retail, they have started doing custom processing for steers and hogs.

“That’s a lot of the business,” Mike said.

The store stocks dry goods, fresh fruit and, of course, fresh meat.

As the only store downtown that carries such products, it does help draw business in.

If you need a can of corn or a can of beans, or some tomato product, customers can stop in to pick it up rather than traipse through a big box store.

The pandemic is still affecting the business.

“The minute they announced that schools were closing in March (2020), they were lined up out the door,” Ivan Belleville said.

The fourth generation consists of Ivan, Mike’s son, and Bruce, Jamie’s son.

While business has plateaued, it is still very strong, Ivan said.

Extra help was brought in when they were against the wall during the pandemic, Mike said.

Ivan Belleville added they went multiple months without employees getting a lunch break.

After that, there was the alleged meat shortage that had people overreacting.

Prices have gone through the roof, Bruce said, adding the store had to raise prices earlier this year and may do so again.

“I don’t like charging people any more than I have to,” he said.

There is a loyal customer base, he added.

Need steaks to grill? Stop on by. Want ham hocks for soup? They got them.

They also carry bulk sausage, veal patties, ground chuck patties and head cheese. Head cheese is jellied meat that may include the tongue, feet and sometimes heart.

“It takes a special customer to want head cheese. It is normally an older person,” Mike said.

You can have a strip steak, rib-eye or sirloin, cut to size. Or ribs, pork chops, bacon, chorizo and pork shoulder, plus deli meats and cheeses.

They are known for their pork-a-lean patties, which can be purchased at the market. The patties are a huge hit every year at the Wood County Fair. It is estimated they go through 10,000 patties, or 2,500 pounds, every year.

The biggest seller is ground beef.

The busiest time of year is June through December, Ivan said, as people grill out then roll right into the holidays.

The only time they’ve had Sunday hours was the weekend after the blizzard in 1978 hit.

They got milk from a stranded semi and operated with no lights and no heat.

“It was cold enough it didn’t hurt anything,” Mike recalled.

The family started with a slaughterhouse on Conneaut Avenue, now the site of Belleville Acres housing community. They sold it in the mid-1990s and then set up shop on Insley Road near North Baltimore.

The family closed that location in May 2015 and now sends its meat to slaughterhouses in Lima and Ashland.

It is delivered to Bowling Green on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Ivan, who is a 1993 Otsego High School graduate, earned a degree in animal science from Ohio State University.

Bruce does the farming and takes care of the cattle while Ivan manages the store. Hesplits his time between the farm and the store.

“I do whatever needs to be done, whether that is wait on customers, wrap meat, or cut meat,” Bruce said.

The 1999 Bowling Green High School graduate studied agribusiness and ag mechanics at Owens Community College.

Mike, who is 78, said he is not ready to retire. He likes to stay involved and comes in every day but no longer makes the decisions.

“I’m happy the boys are willing to continue the business,” he said. “It’s taken many generations to get where we’re at.”

There is the fifth generation that can decide whether they want to continue the business.

It will be between Ivan and Bruce to decide how to continue the business, Mike said.

“We’ll do all we need to do to make ends meet and survive,” Ivan said.

“My hope for the future is it carries on,” Bruce said.