For us, fine smoking continues the tradition of craftsmanship Vermonters are famous for. We craft our meats in small batches according to recipes grown from our Vermont history -- and we’ve been using these traditional methods for over 45 years. For you, the results are meats that burst with flavor you won’t find anywhere else.

Our flavors grew from the heritage of our founders and our customers. Roland LeFebvre, a French-Canadian here in South Barre, started the smokehouse as “Roland’s” in 1962 just a mile from the current location. 

Roland based his now-famous recipes on traditional Vermont methods and ingredients. He brined his bacon and ham with the finest sweetener available, Vermont maple syrup. Then, he smoked them using locally available natural smoke fuels, corn cobs and maple wood.

These are the traditional smokehouse smoke sources -- Vermonters in their 60’s and 70’s tell us stories of when they were kids, smoking meats with their grandparents and using smoldering corn cobs for the smoke.

By the same token, the Italian sausage recipes had to pass muster with the large Italian population in Barre, many of whom came to Barre to work in the granite industry.

In 1999, when the smokehouse was up for sale, the owners of The Farmers Diner (our sister company, at www.farmersdiner.com) knew they had to buy this business. As the only federally inspected meat processing facility at the time that did work for area farmers, it provides crucial services. For a diner based on buying foods from local farmers and food processors, access to a local smokehouse for bacon, ham and sausages was a must!

Only since bringing to market a revitalized Vermont Smoke and Cure label in 2006 did we venture outside of Vermont – to discover that we’ve been making world-class smoked meats all along! Using Roland’s same recipes and methods, we bring you a chance to taste a piece of Vermont craftsmanship.




Barre's Italian Granite Worker Monument honors the Italian-American granite worker artisans that have helped make Barre famous for its granite.