Fresh Has Always Been Better!
Our Story
When you hear the word “Neese’s” you might think of great tasting sausage. However, what we think of is family. We are proud that our products have been a part of your family traditions from tailgates to holiday dinners. Strong family ties are what brought us to where we are today, and they are what keep us moving forward into the future.
Neese’s is a family business dating back 100 years. Our founder, J.T. Neese, started out selling sausage from the back of his covered wagon. Today, the business is run by the fourth generation of Neeses — with the fifth generation on the way.
Located in Greensboro, NC in the Southeast area of Guilford County, our family has called our current location home since 1933. We continue to focus on providing fresh products to a growing following of customers who depend on us for quality and satisfaction.
Every year we open a booth at the North Carolina State Fair in the Jim Graham Building. You can sample Neese’s liver pudding, souse or c-loaf – all North Carolina favorites. It’s become a family tradition.
In fact, Mr. Tom Neese Jr.’s efforts to produce the very best quality possible are legendary. To that end, he has a 60-year recorded chart of prime hog costs that guides his purchases. We bet not even the FDA doesn’t have this kind of historic record.
Family History
Mid 1700’s
In 1769, George Neese (born 1744) moved to what is now Guilford County, North Carolina, traveling the great wagon road through the Shenandoah Valley from Berks County, Pennsylvania.
1800’s
The Neeses were farmers, blacksmiths, as well as horse and cattle traders. They harvested almost everything they ate, and prior to 1900, were making sausage for home consumption.
Early 1900’s
By 1917, J.T. Neese was selling sausage and delivering it in a “prairie schooner” covered wagon like the ones used in the country’s great western movement. J.T. (Mr. Thede) began making sausage with a hand grinder and gradually built a trade.
The “special recipe” for Neese’s Sausage was created by J.T. Neese in the early 1900’s. He developed just the right proportions of ham and other pork cuts, and added just the right seasonings of salt, sage, pepper and a few secret ones that only family members know about.
1920’s
J.T.’s wife, Annie Smith Neese, stirred up another famous Neese recipe for Liver Pudding. “Miss Annie” ground pork livers and other choice pork cuts and seasoned them with herbs and spices. She added just enough cornmeal to hold it together. Just like we do it today, she never added chemicals or preservatives to either sausage or liver pudding.
1925
By 1925, the flourishing business acquired a a Dodge screen-sided truck. Every daybreak, after making and packaging sausage overnight, Mr. Thede would deliver sausage in Greensboro and High Point, North Carolina.
J.T’s son, Tom, graduated from high school and went into sausage making full-time. Eventually the business was left to Tom.
1930
Tom and his brother Homer became partners.
Today
Neese still calls Greensboro, NC. home. Now, the fourth generation of Neese children continues the tradition of making products that are simply the best tasting and highest quality people can buy. Remember, it’s a family tradition; fresh has always been better.
