The history of Zinks

Zinks Meats & Fine Wines began in 1979 when Roland Zink bought Seeger’s Meat Shop located at 41 Marco Lane in Washington Twp. Within the first year of owning the meat shop, he renamed it Zinks Quality Meats. Roland Zink is the brother of Dale Zink, who owns Zink Meat Market in Franklin, but there is no affiliation between the two shops.

In the 1990s, Rob Pence, an employee of Roland Zink, bought the meat shop. The current owners bought the shop in 2011, renamed it Zinks Meats & Fine Wines, and added a selection of wines.

Metzger is a nurse by trade with a love of cooking and exploring unique wines. Her husband had recently sold his equipment business when they bought the meat shop. Hoffer was raised on a farm, so he was familiar with butchering.

In 2015, the couple relocated Zinks Meats & Fine Wines to 409 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Centerville — a space about three times bigger than the original location.

More than a meat shop

With the move, they added a full-service restaurant and wine bar and expanded the deli selection.

“We noticed things were changing,” Metzger said. “People were more about prepared foods than they were about cooking.”

The deli not only has lunch meats, but a large variety of sides like potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, broccoli salad, tapioca pudding and pimento cheese spread. They also have chicken salad, which is a top seller.

“We’ve incorporated a lot of our family traditions into the new Zinks,” Metzger said. “Each family kind of did that.”

For example, the potato salad is Metzger’s grandmother’s recipe and the celery seed dressing is from Hoffer’s grandmother.

The full-service restaurant has starters like shrimp cocktail, crab cakes or deep fried pickles, salads, sandwiches and burgers. Entrees include chicken fingers, BBQ ribs and steak by the ounce.

The wine bar features a diverse, eclectic collection of wines. Wine tastings are held on Wednesdays and each month a wine dinner is offered with tickets sold in advance.

Local meat

Sourcing is very important at Zinks Meats & Fine Wines. All of their meat products are local with pork from Indiana and beef from northern Ohio. Metzger said they source from over 50 farms in the Cleveland area and monitor operations.

“It is all hormone free, steroid free, no preservatives, no antibiotics and no injections of any kind,” Metzger said.

Zinks is known for their prime beef including favorites like filets and ground chuck. They also have seafood sourced from Foremost Seafood in Kettering.

Whether you’re coming to Zinks for meats, sides, wine, lunch or dinner, the establishment hopes you “come in as a guest and by the time you’re done, we want you to leave as a friend or leave with friends.”

“Thank you for supporting all three families over the last 45 years,” Metzger said.

Zinks Meats & Fine Wines is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant’s full menu is available during all operational hours. For more information and upcoming events, visit the establishment’s Facebook page (@ZinksMeatsFineWines).

Recipe from the owner: Turkey Pumpkin White Bean Chili

Ingredients:

Directions: Place a large stockpot or 4-5 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and heat the olive oil. Add the onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and spices and toss to coat, cook an additional 1 minute.

Push the vegetables to the side and add the ground turkey using a wooden spoon to break apart. As the meat browns break it into small pieces and cook until no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Mix in the thyme, salt, pumpkin puree, cannellini beans, and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and slightly cover the pot with the lid and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the heavy cream.