It was with this heritage that, young Bob, just out of the army after the Second World War, would establish Glier’s Meats in Covington, Kentucky. Initially a small neighborhood butcher shop, the store’s reputation for quality and a special recipe for a traditional German product quickly spread throughout the area. That product was Glier’s original Goetta and Greater Cincinnati’s huge German population literally ate the stuff up.

Building upon his mother’s family recipe Bob Glier worked with the flavor and texture of the Goetta to fine tune it to America’s tastes. Glier’s Goetta grew in popularity through those early days even garnering an unsolicited mention by none other than Cincinnati’s arbiter of taste, the venerable Ruth Lyons. In those halcyon days, if " Mother" as the TV talk host was known, gave you a good word, it meant something. In the 50’s Bob and his wife, Louise, made the decision to leave the retail store behind and enter the manufacturing part of the business. It would mean long hours and sacrifice for the young family; they now had two children, Dan and Nancy but it also had rewards. "Gotta Get Glier’s Goetta" became a local catch phrase and Glier’s was on its way to becoming the most popular Goetta in the world. So that Bob’s son Dan would get to see his Dad more often, he spent weekends and summers with him on the job, doing everything from scrubbing pots, to hauling trash. Dan got to know his Father and his business.

Today, Dan Glier continues those traditions with his young family, processing quality meat products and of course, turning out lots of Glier’s Good Goetta. 

The history of Goetta is shrouded in mystery. Even the origin of the word Goetta and its spelling are subject to debate. One thing that is clear is that " the Goetta phenomenon" seems to have its origin in the Greater Cincinnati area and surrounding cities. Pronounced get’ a as in " get a life ", the dish almost certainly came with the great flood of German immigrants to the area in then mid-nineteenth century . By the turn of the century a sizable portion of Cincinnati’s Over The Rhine , district was being referred to as Goetta Country. ( We don’t think there was a Goetta Country Safari ride though.) Up until the mid part of the twentieth century Goetta was often made at home according to Grandma’s favorite recipe or purchased from the local butcher , who would have made it from his Grandma’s recipe. After WW II as older generations passed away and Americans sought more convenient modes of food preparation, the time it took to cook Goetta from scratch seemed excessive. Then, with the demise of the neighborhood butcher shop Goetta could have slipped forever from the tables of Mid-America.

But ! (cue the trumpets) Glier’s was there. And is still here today making the same delicious recipe young Bob Glier perfected all those years ago. Today Glier’s produces Goetta in Four Varieties: Original Pork, Hot, Beef and now... Low Fat Turkey Goetta that has that same delicate blend of spices and herbs and wonderful texture generations have grown to love. The dish is so popular that transplanted Greater Cincinnatians are having it shipped to them all over the country along with that area’s other " cult food " favorites; Skyline Chili, Montgomery Inn Ribs and Graeter’s Ice Cream. So the Legend continues... from the humble beginnings in a small shop in Northern Kentucky, to the world market, Glier’s Original Goetta is gaining fans everyday and now everywhere.