Bluffton’s Main Street meat market, bakery and deli, The Dough Hook, has new owners, but, as they say, “It’s all in the family.”

Sharon and John Calvelage retired at the end of August and the new owners are their daughter and son-in-law, Marlena and Shawn Ballinger. The Calvelages took over the shop in October 2008. 

This means that the family recipes remain secret, but the products in The Dough Hook remain the same. One change, slightly noticeable, is that while John was the meat cutter and Sharon the baker, those roles switch for the new owners. Shawn assumes the baking duties and Marlena is the meat cutter.

“We love being on Main Street Bluffton,” Marlena told The Icon. “We have lots of regular customers who we greet by name. All this makes it a seamless transition.”

She added that she and Shawn are learning all the shortcuts and quirks of the business as John and Sharon turn over the business to them.

“I’ve cut meat my entire life,” said Marlena. She grew up on a farm outside Fort Jennings. “My dad and brother always had a steer in the barn. I learned to cut meat with my grandfather.”

Asked about her favorite meat cut, Marlena said, “I like them all, but really like a nice and tender rib eye cooked on a grill.”

Shawn, who graduated from Pandora-Gilboa High School, also grew up on a farm outside Pandora. His grandfather, Walter Scoles, had a truck patch, and raised sheep and goats.

“We also grew corn and soybeans. I grew up bailing hay in the summer,” said Shawn. “I do most of the cooking and baking and home, so the baking requirements at The Dough Hook coming naturally to me.”

Looking over The Dough Hook’s offering, customers find 16 cheeses, 17 different cold cuts, 16 beef (all Hereford) choices, 21 pork cuts, four chicken choices, ground turkey, sausage rolls and eight different salads.

While retirement is in the future for Sharon and John, Sharon continues as state president of Catholic Ladies of Columbia, a fraternal life insurance company. She will hold that post through 2018. John will continue to care for a 20-herd of cattle on the family farm.

The Main Street meat market, which has continually passed from one owner to the next, is one of the oldest continually operating businesses in Bluffton. The Bigler family started the shop in the late 1800s.

OPEN THE ATTACHMENTS AT THE BOTTOM FOR THE DOUGH HOOK PRICING SHEET.

The Dough Hook
117 N. Main St.
Bluffton
419-369-4264
Check out the business on its website and Facebook
Hours:
Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. to noon