Matt Gamba, Bud’s son, grew up working in the shop and learning the art of meat processing from his dad. Once Matt was old enough, he would travel to local ranches to do traditional slaughtering of the animals before the meat was brought back to Bud’s shop for custom processing. Matt enjoyed his interactions with the ranching families— listening to their stories and watching them work hard to raise and feed their families. He learned firsthand what was important to the families he served and was inspired and motivated by their strong work ethic and focus on tradition and sustainability. Matt listened to his customers, taking meat products they talked about and desired, and turned them into tangible items that could be processed, made, and sold in the butcher shop. This marked the beginning of the retail aspect of Bud’s Custom Meats. Sausage and jerky were the first two items that Matt experimented with. Using flavors and spices his customers had talked about, he created savory recipe blends that customers began to request on a regular basis.

In 1997 Matt Gamba took the reins to Bud’s Custom Meats. In order to maintain profitability in a market that had become increasingly commercialized, Matt went back to the drawing board. He knew he needed to expand and diversify in order to sustain business, so once again he looked to his tried-and-true customers for inspiration. The niche he discovered and expanded upon would prove to pave the way for many of the local meat processing businesses throughout not only Sonoma and Marin Counties but also throughout California.