When Pat Costello opened Just Good Meat in 1959, he wasn’t just starting a butcher shop—he was continuing a family tradition that began decades earlier in a meat market across the street from Disney Studios in Hollywood. A third-generation butcher, Costello started cutting meat at just 9 years old and became California’s youngest journeyman butcher at age 15. After serving in the Air Force and living in Las Vegas, he returned to his roots in Omaha, using the money from selling his California home to open Just Good Meat.
More than six decades later, the business remains a staple in Omaha’s food scene, now led by Costello’s grandson, Sean Fuller. Fuller, who represents the third generation in the family’s butcher legacy, has embraced the responsibility of keeping the brand relevant while protecting its deep roots.
“Legacy means everything,” Fuller said. “There’s this deep sense of responsibility to do it right, because it was done right before me. That pride in quality and community came from my grandpa and grandma. I try to keep that alive every day.”…