KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Local business owner Herman Meyer, founder of Midway Meat Market, Midway BBQ and Midway Deer Processing, has died. He was 89.
Meyer opened Midway Meat Market, 5901 Highway Blvd., in 1967. The market features deer processing, a country store and a dining room.
Meyer said he opened a small shack in front of the market to serve barbecue, and it led to the construction of the restaurant down the street at 6025 Highway Blvd.
In February 2021, fire gutted the popular restaurant. Meyer said in a 2022 interview that fire inspectors told him the flames started in the office, though he said there was nothing in the office to ignite such a fire.
The restaurant was down but not out. Meyer said one of his customers owned a restaurant down the street at 6191 Highway Blvd. but confessed that he didn't want to be in the pizza business. The customer encouraged Meyer to use that restaurant facility and keep his barbecue operations going while restoring the original location. Meyer did so, and the revamped Midway BBQ opened in 2022. The restaurant's meeting room has served as a gathering place for many local organizations.
Midway
Midway owner Herman Meyer was 89.
Local leaders react
Longtime Katy resident Sandy Schmidt recalls Meyer as a good family man and good community member who loved Katy. She said people who knew Meyer before he got involved in his grocery and barbecue businesses knew him well.
"I've basically known him all my life because he grew up here and so did I," Schmidt said. "He and his family were friends of my family throughout the years. With whatever he had, he was so willing to share and help."
One way Meyer did this was with the meeting room in the back of the restaurant, which Schmidt said was not part of the original plan.
"He added that back part on because he wanted a nice space for community groups and church groups to meet," Schmidt said. "Our church had a Bible study there, and had meetings there, and my Katy High School class had reunion dinners there. But he loved that. He loved seeing that area being used. That's exactly what he built it for. But that's the kind of guy he was, you know. It was like come and have dinner at my house. Except it was coming to have dinner at the store. He was a great guy."
Former Mayor Skip Conner described Meyer as a "pillar of the community."
"He helped set the tone of the city for many through his generosity and his business," Conner said, recalling how the Katy Rotary Club in years past held pancake suppers and bought all it needed from Meyer. "If we didn't use it all, if the package wasn't opened, he would always take it back with no problems."
Paulette Nelson, widow of former Mayor and City Administrator Johnny Nelson, recalled that Meyer had served in the Army before getting into the supermarket business. He worked with a local grocer and decided to start his own store.
"He had a grocery store, and then he opened up that barbecue place," Nelson said. "He didn't do contracts, just a handshake."
In more recent times, contracts became necessary, but Nelson said Meyer was never good at contracts.
"He just thought if a man shook your hand, that was all it took to do what he says he's going to do," Nelson said.
Nelson said her husband was closer to the Meyer family due to their long roots in Katy and was close to Meyer's father. They were regulars at the restaurant.
Conner, meanwhile, recalled how Meyer worked with local farmers in an era when Katy was much more rural than it is today.
"In the old days, a lot of the farmers would go in there and they'd buy the groceries and stuff and they'd sign a ticket. When harvest time came around and they sold the rice they'd go back and pay off their bill, little things like that," Conner said.
Schmidt said the Meyer home property in Katy has preserved some wildlife and people can drive by to see them.
"That's a wonderful contribution to a community to have your own built-in zoo, because I know a lot of folks have never seen those kinds of animals before," Schmidt said. "I think that was a great thing to have in our city limits. I bet there aren't that many of those kinds of places around, a homestead that has deer and elk crawling around."
Visitation, funeral service set
The restaurant said in a statement that both the meat market and the restaurant will close at 4 p.m. today, Sept. 8, and remain closed through Tuesday so employees can attend visitation and funeral services.
Visitation is set for 5-7 p.m. today, Sept. 8, at Katy Community Fellowship, 24012 Kingsland Blvd.
The funeral service is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday, also at Katy Community Fellowship. The restaurant will host a reception following the funeral.