A local, worker-centered, certified humane handling and organic meat processing facility in Southeast Michigan.
ABOUT US
Our Mission
Damian’s Craft Meats is a new USDA-inspected meat processing facility rooted in local values, multigenerational experience, and a commitment to community.
We’re building a regional hub in Manchester, Michigan to support small and mid-size livestock farmers, create living-wage jobs, and make high-quality, humanely raised meat more accessible.
Damian Rivera
- Co-founder and Co-owner, Damian’s Craft Meats, LLC
- Spent 17 years in the automotive industry (foreman, quality, and maintenance manager)
- Apprenticed in USDA-inspected and custom-exempt slaughterhouses (2013–2017)
- Earned HACCP certification from Michigan State University in 2014
- Built a loyal customer base of 50+ small to mid-scale farmers in Michigan
Rosemary Linares
- Co-founder and Co-owner, Damian’s Craft Meats, LLC
- Principal, Cross Movement Social Justice Consulting, L3C
- Fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing (2022)
- MPA from Wagner School of Public Policy at New York University
- Raised over $6 million in grant funds to support DCM
Our Story
Damian learned to butcher as a young adult in Mexico, where working with animals, honoring their lives, and feeding the community weren’t abstract ideas, but daily practice.
Rosemary’s great-grandfather started a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse before World War II, and family stories of that work shaped our understanding of what meat processing could be: local, personal, and rooted in pride.
Years later, as we built our own family, we found ourselves asking:
Where does our meat come from, and what kind of system are we supporting?
That question became a calling.
We knew there had to be another way and Damian’s Craft Meats is our answer.
We are building a local, humane, worker-centered meat processing facility in Manchester, Michigan as the result of years of lived experience, community relationships, persistence, and hard-earned lessons.
Today, the site is secured. Plans are complete and bid. Farmers are ready. The demand is real.
After a decade-long journey, this vision is finally becoming tangible!
Our Values
- Farmer-First: Built to serve independent producers
- Worker-Centered: Good jobs, safe and dignified work, transparent management
- Humane Animal Handling: Honoring the animals we process with dignity and respect
- Quality & Transparency: Unique products and flavor profiles, trusted partnerships, clear traceability
- Local Food Sovereignty: Keeping good food and economic value in the region
- Sustainable Practices: Water, waste, and energy systems with the future in mind
CONTACT
Get In Touch
Questions about the project? Interested in partnering? Media inquiry?
Email: 
Phone: 517-414-4828
Location: Manchester, Michigan
PRESS
2025
MLive
Farmers, foodies abuzz ove USDA Inspected Slaughterhouse Coming to Ann Arbor Area:
Sustainable Food Systems Initiative
Building Community in the Local Meat System of Southeast Michigan
As A Man Thinketh Podcast
Washtenaw County’s First Slaughterhouse Will Call Manchester Home
2024
The Manchester Mirror
Building Community in the Local Meat System of Southeast Michigan
Fair Food Network
From Crisis to Equity: Reinventing the Meat Processing Industry for Resilience and Justice
USDA
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final Awards Through Landmark Meat and Poultry Processing Investment
Michigan Farm News
Washtenaw Co. Meat Processor to Receive Nearly $2.4M Grant to Expand Facility
2023
2022
MLive
Meet the Ann Arbor-Area Slaughterhouse Founders Working to Bring Local Meat to Your Table