Where’s the beef? On the east and west sides with new wagyu shops

Wagyu beef has been popular in the United States for some time, but it suddenly seems especially hot in Wichita with a new shop coming to the west side later this month and a store on the east side rebranding to promote the meat.

“I foresee wagyu taking a pretty large stake in the beef community because once you try it, it’s kind of hard to go back,” said Clay Hoberecht.

On April 20, he’s opening Wichita Wagyu in Tyler Pointe at 13th and Tyler next to Bakers Haus ICT, where Spin-ICT used to be.

“The whole thing started with me just being a steak guy through and through,” Hoberecht said. “I absolutely love steak.”

He’d been wanting to try wagyu for a while when his employees at Best Body Shop gifted him a variety pack from Wheat State Wagyu.

“I cooked my first KC strip and about lost it,” Hoberecht said. “I mean, I was beside myself. . . . Before long, I’ve got a garage full of commercial freezers.”

He’s been selling Wheat State Wagyu to other customers from there, but now he’ll have an actual store where he sells wagyu beef from local, regional and national farms.

“I’m going to be selling everything I raise through Wichita Wagyu,” said Cody Ayres, a third-generation cattle rancher who operates just east of Garden Plain.

Ayres had been selling on his own and was doing all right, but he said Hoberecht will be able to do better.

“It’s just a whole different set of skills,” Ayres said. “Retail and raising cattle is a different animal, I guess. . . . Having an outlet for local farmers to sell beef . . . like that is pretty awesome.”

Wichita Wagyu also will carry some pork, lamb and chicken, too.

“Our main purpose really is to connect these farms with consumers that don’t know that there’s other options to eat great food that has no additives,” Hoberecht said.

He said the protein is free of hormones, steroids, antibiotics and preservatives.

“There’s an insane amount of health benefits.”

Wagyu, commonly pronounced WAH-gyoo, is a breed from Japan where Hoberecht said cows were bred to work instead of being bred for food. He said that when those cows were butchered, they were more marbled and their flavor was more intense.

The beef had healthier fats, too, he said, but Hoberecht admitted that’s not what got his interest.

“It’s a completely different . . . eating experience,” he said. “It’s hard to explain.”

At the store’s grand opening party, he’ll have a variety of samples for customers to try.

Hoberecht is throwing several events around Wichita to give people a taste of what he’ll sell. There will be regular in-store tastings, too.

Wagyu can be more expensive than Angus beef sometimes. Hoberecht said it could be as inexpensive as $10 for ground beef up to $200 for one 15-ounce cut.

“There’s a lot of cuts that people don’t know about,” he said.

Hoberecht said some cuts may not be great in Angus but are tasty in wagyu.

Wichita Wagyu also will sell seasonings, sauces, cookbooks, chopping blocks, knives, aprons and grills.

In addition to its own tastings, the store also will host events with farmers. Hoberecht said they are meant to be opportunities to eat a variety of wagyu and meet the producers.

“Part of the passion we have is connecting the farm with the people.”

A rebranding

On the east side, Booth Creek Wagyu & Seafood Shop just celebrated its rebranding and grand reopening.

The store, in Cambridge Market at 21st and Webb Road, used to be known as the Seafood Shop when seafood was its main focus.

As The Eagle reported last year, Manhattan-based Booth Creek Wagyu owner Dave Dreiling purchased the Seafood Shop and began adding his company’s meat to the store.

The store’s new sign went up recently, and general manager Audra Bell said she wants to let everyone know that both wagyu and seafood are available.

“We’re really working hard to keep it 50/50,” she said.

Bell said some customers have worried they won’t be able to find as much seafood, but she said, “If anything, we’re going to work on increasing it.”

Booth Creek sells from an Australian, not Japanese, line of wagyu beef.

“There hasn’t been a lot of it in the states,” Bell said.

Like Hoberecht, Bell said wagyu is “healthier, and it’s better for you.”

She said Booth Creek’s cows are grass-fed and grain-finished, including with grains such as hops and barley left over from local brewers.

“We’re really trying to be more sustainable and resourceful with what the cows are fed,” Bell said. “And it just tastes better.”