Since 1924 the Taylor family has been enjoying the experience of making fine sausage. Great Grandpa Taylor came from Europe with his recipes and started in Calgary, Alberta Canada, settling later in Santa Monica, California. Grandpa Taylor apprenticed with Great Grandpa, then began an adventure in 1934 in the world famous Farmer’s Market in Hollywood as one of its originators. He served our famous sausages to Hollywood stars for over 19 years at that location.
After a brief interruption from World War II, he went to the city of the Golden Gate. The San Francisco store was located in the exciting old European-style Crystal Palace Market. Other sausage kitchens were added in Oakland and Hayward across the Bay. This is where the third-generation Taylor sausage maker began his love of the business.
After a stint in the Korean War, Charles Taylor completed a Bachelors of Science Degree with emphasis on the meat sciences from Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo. After six days a week for 10 years in the Oakland store, he left the Big City and its freeways for the country. In 1970 the family moved to the Illinois Valley in Josephine County, Southern Oregon.
In order to ship across the state lines to our Oakland store, we built a brand new modern USDA-inspected sausage kitchen where we process under the finest meat inspection system in the world. Using the finest meats, natural spices, natural casings, natural smoking hardwoods and a minimum of preservatives, we feel we make sausages second to none!
The two sons, who grew up in the Valley and with the business, now apply the art of sausage making with their dad and their own kids in Cave Junction, Oregon. Serving markets from Seattle and Spokane in the north to Oakland and Berkeley to the south, our plant employs over 100 people to produce the finest products for you. During the holidays and hunting season, daughters, daughters-in-law, Grandma and Grandpa, plus a handful of Grand kids and seniors all pitch in to complete the job!
In late 2001 we bought property on the Redwood Highway in Cave Junction and began our most ambitious expansion since coming to Oregon, as we began work on a new spacious retail store. After almost a year of planning and setbacks we opened Taylor’s Country Store in August of 2002.
Now the fifth generation of the Taylor family has joined in to keep the tradition of fine handcrafted sausage available to you and your family.
Please visit us in Southern Oregon and enjoy our more than eighty varieties of products that can include sausage from your game and farm animals. And of course, don’t forget to take home a gift or two for friends and family.