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By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer

Mike Webb and Kelly Borror spent months trying to decide where they could locate their planned new meat market. They drove Summit Street many times seeking the ideal spot.

Finally it dawned on them. Why not locate on the spot of a former South Summit market that was popular for its lean meats and neighborly style service?

Longtime Arkansas City residents may remember Shanks Grocery store operated for 50 years starting in the mid-1930s at the corner of Summit and Jefferson.

Webb and Borror plan to build a 3,000-square-foot steel building on the vacant lot where Shanks once stood. The building will have an old-fashioned front of rock and cedar, they said.

The name of the planned business will be WB Meats, they said.

When built, the new structure would be the first put up on Summit Street in recent memory, city officials say.

To make their dream become a reality, Webb and Borror approached the city, which now owns the site where Shanks once stood. The Shanks building was torn down in the mid-1980s.

The lot was put up for sale under sealed bids, and the two potential proprietors had the high bid of $2,000, City Manager Doug Russell said today.

Drawings of the proposed building have been sent to the Kansas State Historical Office and have been approved to be erected in the historical downtown district, Russell said.

"The city has helped us a lot," Webb said, adding that a downtown bank also helped by approving a loan for the project.

The next step for Webb and Borror is to come to an agreement with the city on easements so that a mural showing Ark City's history can still be seen by passersby, Russell said.

The mural covers the side of a building just to the north of where the new meat market would be built.

"Hopefully, we'll get wrapped up on the easement soon," Russell said. "The land is authorized to be sold pending final agreement."

Terms of the agreement also would include the business interests of the potential new owners, he said.

Webb and Borror said they hope to build a drive-through window at the north side of the building.

Of course, the building plans would have to meet city codes, Russell said. A more detailed building plan than the visual rendering sent to the state historical office will be submitted to the city.

Webb said the business venture is a risk and there is some anxiety because of that. But he and his partner believe their planned store would fill a niche in the local market.

"We can't go anywhere in town without being stopped and asked when it will be open and where it will be," Borror said. "It seems like every time I go shopping with my wife, she keeps going while I stand and talk with someone."

The market would be stocked with mostly fresh meat items and some frozen, such as hamburger meat.

"We'll have exotic meats also, such as alligator and buffalo," Webb said.

Webb and Borror worked together for the past four years at the meat department at Village Market before the grocery store closed in June.

Webb said he used to work as a meat-cutter at Shanks, years ago. Before that, he worked at Rodeo Meats at the old packing plant.

The Shanks market also brings back memories for Borror, he said.

"I grew up around the Shanks neighborhood," said Borror. "I used to go in as a kid. Mr. Shanks would let me sweep the floor and give me a piece of candy."

Above: Kelly Borror, left, and Mike Webb stand on land where they plan to build WB Meats, a new meat market on Summit Street in downtown Arkansas City.