business industry mail order retail gourmet food founded 1917 headquarters omaha nebraska products food revenue 450 million 1 website www.omahasteaks.com omaha steaks international inc. known as omaha steaks is a family business that manufactures markets and distributes steaks red meats and gourmet foods . 2 3 4 the company is named after the american city it was founded and is headquartered in omaha nebraska . contents 1 history 1.1 omaha butcher shop 1.2 table supply meat co. 1.3 mail order 1.4 omaha steaks international 1.4.1 retail stores 2 operations 3 marketing 3.1 internet marketing 3.2 tailgating trademark 4 in popular culture 5 philanthropy 6 works or publications 6.1 television 6.2 cookbooks 6.2.1 free publications 7 see also 8 notes and references 9 external links history edit the company was founded in 1917 as a single butcher shop in omaha nebraska . omaha steaks is a fth generation privately held family business that is now one of america s largest marketers of beef . 2 omaha steaks also owns an affiliate company world port seafood . omaha butcher shop edit j.j. simon and his son b.a. came to america to escape antisemitism . 5 passing through ellis island in 1898 they settled in omaha because of the farmland s similarity to their homeland riga latvia . they worked for nearly 20 years as butchers for other people . 5 in 1917 the family founded omaha steaks as a cattle carcass operation at 17th and douglas streets . 2 table supply meat co. edit the simon family bought an old carpentry store table supply co. as the site for their meat cutting business . in an effort to save money b.a. moved the two letters co to the right inserted the word meat and called their new company table supply meat co. 2 by 1924 the business moved to a larger building at 1211 howard street in the heart of the old market neighborhood from which j.j. and b.a. began selling cuts of meat to local supermarkets and national chain grocery stores as well as to hotel restaurants and institutional customers . 1 b.a. s son lester simon is credited with introducing omaha steaks across the us when he brokered a deal with the union pacific railroad to begin serving omaha steaks in the dining cars of their transcontinental trains in the 1940s . 5 6 lester simon hand selected the meat for the union pacific passenger trains that traveled between omaha and los angeles san francisco and seattle . 2 train passengers who ordered omaha steaks in union pacific s dining cars prompted the company to launch its first mail order ventures magazine ads and direct mail flyers in 1952 . 5 lester simon also began shifting table supply s focus from a butcher operation to the marketing of fine cuts of meat . 2 mail order edit in 1952 the first mail order operation was launched to serve distant customers . the meat was shipped in wax lined cartons filled with dry ice . it was not until the early 1960s that insulated shipping containers made of polystyrene and vacuum packaging became available . 5 in 1961 nebraska governor frank b. morrison sent steaks from table supply to president john f. kennedy and all of the governors in the united states . in that same year table supply was honored to be involved in the culinary olympics held in frankfurt germany at which the united states team won the grand gold prize with a dish that featured aged prime ribs of beef provided by table supply thereby earning an international reputation for the omaha company . 5 omaha steaks international edit omaha steaks bacon wrapped filet mignon in 1966 when the company moved into its southwest omaha headquarters at 4400 s. 96th street the simon family changed the name from table supply meat co. to omaha steaks international . the company plant remains at that site . the corporate offices are now at 10909 john galt boulevard . 2 in the 1970s omaha steaks added inbound and outbound call centers and a mail order industry first toll free customer service line . an automated order entry system was installed in 1987 . 2 5 retail stores edit omaha steaks opened its first retail store in omaha in 1976 when buying a product from the company was limited to eating at certain restaurants that offered their products or ordering meats from its mail order catalog . 2 omaha steaks underwent another expansion phase in the 1980s and 1990s consolidating administration and marketing in two new buildings . 7 in 1985 the company ventured beyond nebraska opening a retail store in houston . 5 omaha steaks now has more than 85 retail stores in 29 states . 2 another area where omaha steaks focused on growing was its corporate sales unit which it expanded upon in the mid 1990s . omaha steaks created a separate corporate catalog that was intended to serve the corporate buyers who were already customers . the effort soon began to pay off for omaha steaks . in just two years the company was able to grow its corporate sales by 50 percent . 5 in 2004 omaha steaks began selling pet treats . 8 operations edit omaha steaks are shipped directly to customers packed in insulated coolers chilled with ice . 9 the company also operates retail stores which carry the same products as offered through mail order . 2 the company uses a variety of marketing techniques including mail order telesales telemarketing retail sales and internet based sales . 4 besides its retail stores food service operation catalogs and direct mail omaha steaks also includes business to business gifts and incentives special markets and a website . 2 bruce simon is president and chief operating officer of omaha steaks . todd simon responsible for the development and implementation of the company s marketing programs and employee training initiatives serves as senior vice president . 10 as of april 2013 omaha steaks is listed by the omaha chamber of commerce as the 22nd largest employer in the city of omaha . 11 the company hires 2 500 seasonal employees . some of which are hired to add to company s permanent work force of about 1 800 . 1 omaha steaks is the largest small parcel direct shipper of gourmet foods in the us . its 400 item product line generates revenue of about 450 million in annual sales 1 a total of about 4 million packages a year . marketing edit omaha steaks logo typically seen on boxes steaks are shipped in internet marketing edit omaha steaks was an early adopter of internet marketing since the 1990s using compuserve for online sales . 12 omahasteaks.com launched in 1995 and is the company s fastest growing business segment . 7 the company became part of the microsoft network in 1998 . 5 in 2011 omaha steaks launched a website for mobile devices 13 and released the steak time applications for iphone and ipad . 14 steak time features how to videos tips and recipes . tailgating trademark edit in 2010 omaha steaks was granted a trademark for the phrase the official sponsor of tailgating . 15 nfl rookie of the year 2010 ndamukong suh a defensive tackle with the detroit lions was named as a spokesman of tailgating for the official sponsor of tailgating omaha steaks in 2010 . 16 17 in popular culture edit omaha steaks has been either featured or mentioned on the television shows good morning america cbs early show the west wing oprah the view the ellen degeneres show rules of engagement the dr. phil show the rachel ray show the larry sanders show modern family live with regis and kelly tosh .0 the simpsons and fear the walking dead . also it has been referenced in the movies dodgeball a true underdog story and up in the air . in 2011 omaha steaks was featured on season 11 of celebrity apprentice . 18 the episode had more than 8 million viewers and featured bruce and todd simon as judges . 19 20 philanthropy edit the simon family has a consistent record of supporting local and national cultural arts organizations such as bemis center for contemporary arts 21 film streams 22 joslyn art museum omaha performing arts society the omaha summer arts festival omaha symphony orchestra omaha theatre company for young people opera omaha and the santa fe opera . 23 omaha steaks supports american cancer society american heart association big brothers big sisters of america juvenile diabetes research foundation national multiple sclerosis society . 6 works or publications edit television edit omaha steaks on cnbc the big idea 12 5 06 mentioned in fear the walking dead may 8 2016 cookbooks edit simon frederick j john harrisson and mark kiffin . the steaklover s companion 170 savory recipes from america s greatest chefs . new york harpercollinspublishers 1997 . isbn 978 0 0601 8781 1 cookbook adapts dishes from recipes developed by james beard who had been an omaha steaks consultant for many years simon frederick j and john harrisson . a year of beef recipes beef for all seasons . new york harpercollins 1999 . isbn 978 0 0601 9382 9 harrisson john and frederick j. simon . omaha steaks let s grill . new york clarkson potter 2001 . isbn 978 0 6096 0776 3 harrisson john and frederick j. simon . omaha steaks meat . new york n.y c. potter 2001 . isbn 978 0 6096 0777 0 the great american grilling book . new york time inc. home entertainment 2008 . isbn 978 1 6032 0020 2 free publications edit omaha steaks international good life guide and cookbook a yearly volume great gathering guide & cookbook a free cookbook and cooking guide with coupons see also edit direct marketing gourmet foods mail order business notes and references edit a b c d waters pat october 14 2010 . omaha steaks seeks seasonal hires . omaha world herald . retrieved 29 december 2013 . a b c d e f g h i j k l alexander deborah may 16 2006 . 5 generations have kept the sizzle in omaha steaks . redorbit.com . omaha world herald distributed by knight ridder tribune business news . retrieved 29 december 2013 . wartowski david june 22 1994 . prime time omaha steaks says its meat is a cut above in s. florida . sun sentinel ft. lauderdale . tribune news . retrieved 29 december 2013 . a b company overview of omaha steaks international inc. . business week . retrieved 29 december 2013 . a b c d e f g h i j omaha steaks international inc. company profile information business description history background information on omaha steaks international inc. . reference for business company history index . retrieved 29 december 2013 . a b the omaha steaks story heritage brochure pdf . omaha steaks . 2011 . retrieved 29 december 2013 . a b biga leo adam june 15 2010 . this version of simon says positions omaha steaks as a food service juggernaut . the jewish press . leo adam biga blog . retrieved 29 december 2013 . mott maryann november 14 2004 . catering to the consumers with animal appetites . the new york times . retrieved 29 december 2013 . drickhamer david december 12 2006 . peak seasoning at omaha steaks . mh & l material handling & logistics . retrieved 29 december 2013 . biga leo adam june 21 2012 . cousins bruce and todd simon continue the omaha steaks tradition . b2b magazine . leo adam biga blog . retrieved 29 december 2013 . top 100 largest employer list pdf . select greater omaha . greater omaha economic development partnership . april 8 2013 . retrieved 29 december 2013 . lewis peter h. december 25 1993 . cyberspace is looking a lot like christmas