LEAWOOD, Kan. — It's turkey time and the usual spots remain unusually busy.
"This is definitely our busiest time of the year," Kurt McDonald, store manager at Fritz's Smoked Meats and Superior Sausage Company in Leawood, said.
Everywhere you go, someone is buying a bird, but the folks at Fritz's waited for almost an hour Tuesday to pick up their turkey and fixings.
"Generally, (we) run about 5,500 (turkeys), then about 1200 hams (and) another 1,200 to 1,500 turkey breasts," McDonald said.
Turkeys are more than just a holiday tradition at Fritz's.
"Between both Thanksgiving and Christmas in November and December, (that's) easily doing about 40% of our business," McDonald said.
He said that revenue will keep the business going through roughly May.
Even food giants like Price Chopper rely on the holidays.
"We have 52 stores in the metro, so we go through a lot of turkeys," Price Chopper spokesperson Jessica Crozier said.
This Thanksgiving alone, the grocery store chain expects to sell 65,000 turkeys, which makes this time of year the busiest.
"People do really big trips," Crozier said. "They are wanting to feed their entire family and people from out of town, so yeah we see a lift during this time."
Meanwhile, Fritz's said it's always grateful for the customers who keep themthe business afloat.
"It's huge," McDonald said. "This is what keeps our business going and, without that, we would have to work a lot harder and try to find more things to sell."
