As you walk through the front door of Inboden’s Meat Market , your sense of smell is overwhelmed by the aroma of spices and grain.

Chilled behind glass cases lay several different kinds of meats ready to be purchased. Customers watch firsthand as employees work on custom ordered cuts of meat. Giant slabs of beef are portioned and diced with the precision of a surgeon and packaged for the numerous customers lined up at the counter. Modern technology has replaced some of the more outdated packaging machines but has not replaced the hands-on work of Inboden’s employees, a style of serving meat that hasn’t changed much since Tom Inboden’s father opened the store in 1962. Ocie Inboden, Tom’s father, took a gamble with his wife and opened up their own meat market in a little town called DeKalb.

“In 1962, him and my mom started the business,” Inboden said. “They had twenty-two dollars in cash and they started the company.”

Now 49 years later, Inboden’s Meat Market hasn’t moved a foot from its original location at 1106 N. First St. Inboden took over operations in 1990 and has continued to update and expand the local family business.

Inboden’s Meat Market has been making a name for itself through competitions all across the country. This past February, Inboden’s Meat Market competed in the Illinois Product Show, winning the Grand Champion Award for their fresh bratwurst, Illinois’ top prize in the competition. Inboden’s Meat Market also won the Reserve Grand Champion Award for their chicken currywurst at the same competition.

“[The currywurst is] lean, it’s got a little bit of a different bite to it,” Inboden said. “It’s really flavorful and it’s great with mustard on it.”

Inboden first premiered the currywurst a few years ago at an event in Reno, Nev., that focused on artisan style sausage.

“As the industry goes, they look for people who are trying new avenues to market products,” Inboden said.

After receiving numerous awards and recognitions for his various types of meat products, Inboden is most proud of the University of Illinois’ Sleeter Bull Meat Processors Award. The award is given annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to the meat processing industry in Illinois. Professor Sleeter Bull was an instrumental pioneer in the development of meat technologies and science.

“It was great,” Inboden said. “To be recognized by your peers and the university like that is certainly an honor.”

Inboden’s passion for meat and quality products consistently challenges him to develop new, cutting edge recipes. Whether it’s taking a class on microbiology at the University of Wisconsin or attending a seminar on making artisan style sausage, Inboden thrives on expanding his knowledge of meat products.

“This is an industry that you can continually be learning [about] many products you can make, each with a nuance to itself,” Inboden said. “That’s one of the things that interested me, to never stop learning.”

Inboden’s newest creation is a breakfast sausage with oatmeal. The oatmeal adds a new texture and added nutrition while reducing the cost, Inboden said. Another combination in the works involves mixing soy beans with various meats, which is typically done in Europe and Asia.

Inboden has his sons, Joseph, Nathan and Dusty, working closely with him at the store in hopes that they follow in the footsteps of himself and his father. He hopes that his sons have the same passion for meat as he does and to keep Inboden’s Meat Market a multi-generational family-run DeKalb treasure.