Like many 18-year-olds, Yonathan Jacobi was trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life after high school.
The kosher butcher shop where he worked as a manager had recently closed, and graduation was fast approaching.
“I didn’t know which path to go down. Should I go to college? Should I try to find another job at a butcher shop?” he said.
But unlike many 18-year-olds, Jacobi decided to start his own business, and on Feb. 15, four years later, he openedYonis’ Kosher Jerkyat 6 South Station Plaza in Great Neck Plaza.
Jacobi started working at a butcher shop in Roslyn during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was 16, where he gained his butchering skills and eventually specialized in making jerky.
“My boss taught me practically everything there was to know about meat,” said Jacobi. “I started working with different meats, different cuts, slicing, different machines and equipment.”
Eventually, he learned how to make beef jerky. The store began selling it, and it proved to be a hit.
“It started selling like wildfire,” said Jacobi.
After the owner of the butcher shop unexpectedly closed the business, Jacobi said his phone started blowing up with calls and texts asking if he could still make jerky for his former regulars, and he had the idea of making jerky in his garage at home in Great Neck during his spare time.
A couple of months into his side hustle, Jacobi said he was selling hundreds of bags a week — then word of mouth spread, and he was selling thousands a week.
Source: LI Press
