DOMINGO’S BUTCHER
Writing our history ever since 1978
Sausages in Marina Alta
-Sobrasaeeeero! – that was how Mr. Domingo Argudo, (the company’s founder alongside his wife Josefa Mas) announced the arrival of sausages from Marina Alta to the great city of Valencia.
For years, the free-ranged pigs were raised at the family shed in the countryside, there they were then slaughtered, and the artisan production started. Years later this would change as local authorities started regulating the meat industry, so the family had to take steps to adapt.
Domingo, along with a further 12 families from Senija decided to create a cooperative, a shared place where they could slaughter their animals while complying with the new health regulations.
Domingo saved the recipes his great-grandfather taught him. These recipes came from Tarbena and were passed along from one generation to the next.
Those magnificent recipes and a production that was exceeding local demand, forced them to visit villages that were close to Marina Alta in order to sell their products. Marina Alta sobrasada and sausages had such a success that Domingo was well known in the city of Valencia. In the case of the wealthiest families in town (who were his great-grandfather’s regular customers), these were personally visited by Domingo on a one by one basis. He would knock on their doors to offer them that week’s products. But not everything was easy, as the competent authorities of uses and consumption had to grant them permission to sell in the city. Those who were authorized were identified by paying a “tax” that would allow them to work.
In the cooperative, the families worked under a single fiscal unit which in the future they were forced to change. As in any partnership, there were some disputes and once the facilities were out-of-date, Domingo’s family decided to settle in a larger city where they could offer their entire production.
Beginnings
It was 1978 when Domingo, Josefa and their eldest son also named Domingo, settled in Teulada where they opened their new butcher shop in Santa Catalina Ave. Soon after, their second eldest, Josefa, replaced Domingo as he took some time off away from the family business.
The local clientele started to grow, as increasingly more people were depositing their trust in our products and preparations. Our locals, most of whom were housewives, came to the shop on a daily basis to get their everyday shopping.
Days passed working hard from dawn till dusk, and our daily productions of sausages, blood pudding, sobrasadas, chorizo sausages kept on growing as well. With the need for further help, some of the workers became “teachers” for the art of creating our products. This was how Antonio, the youngest of the family, joined the team.
Unexpected growth
One day Domingo got sick, so his son Antonio was left in charge. And without his father’s authorisation, he decided to take an initiative that changed the company’s path: he visited a few local restaurants in the area and offered them their products at the time.
When Domingo returned, he realised that something had changed in his business. His once exclusively housewives clientele now included restaurant professionals that had become loyal customers. This had exponentially raised their revenue and profits, so Domingo had no choice but to accept Antonio’s new approach. Orders multiplied, and the business started to need new labour.
Later, Josefa (the second eldest child) joined the family business and became to take control of Teulada’s butcher shop focusing on retail sales. Antonio, on the other hand, contacted his older brother Domingo (the eldest) and asked him to join them as they needed assistance on the logistics and marketing aspect of business. Domingo accepted the challenge and took charge of external sales.
As the professional clientele grew, the family realised that they needed to become more organized and Eva (the youngest of the children) joined them in order to take charge of the administrative matters.
From father to son
Domingo senior, who forged his trade and saved his ancestor’s recipes for years, left his children to assume full responsibility for keeping the traditions and practices of the company alive in order to preserve the original meats and sausages of Marina Alta, since from then onwards, “Carns i Embotits Domingo” has been the only producer of these traditional meats.
So with all the 4 siblings now working together, Domingo senior decided to take a step back and leave the business to them. Now retired, he is proud of his work and for leaving his legacy of the Marina Alta sausages in good hands.
New generation
In 2018 we now undertook a significant challenge. We have moved our facilities to the industrial estate in Benissa. This new location is equipped with high tech machines and new processes that allow us to work in a much more efficient and environmentally friendly manner.
We have over 1,000m3 of refrigerators, industrial freezers, specialised staff for each product, independent load and discharge bays for our vehicle fleet, automatic packing machines, etc. Everything that is required to improve our commitment towards quality.
Nowadays, over 90 deliveries are shipped every day to our more than 500 customers.
Our people
During our more than 40 years of history, we have gone from a family business to become the leading meat distribution company in Marina Alta. We have worked with hundreds of people and none of this would have been possible without the human values of our team.
We are very proud of every bit that they contributed to our way of approaching business. Undoubtedly, we would have not been able to grow without their shared efforts and dedication.
Many thanks to all the team at Carns i Embotits Domingo.
