HAYWARD — A meat market in this city won seven awards last month at an annual state convention.

Nick’s Meats, owned by Todd and Cheryl Enderson, received accolades at the mid-March gathering for the Minnesota Association of Meat Processors in St. Cloud. The contest, the Minnesota Cured Meat Championships, pits meat markets across the state against each other in several categories.

Nick’s Meats won Grand Champion for its snack sticks and Reserve Grand Champion for its braunschweiger. It won third place in four categories: regular summer sausage, pepper cheese summer sausage, beef jerky and pepper cheese snack sticks. It won fourth place for its smoked turkey.

“I was very happy with the awards,” said Todd Enderson. “We always try to do well at the product show.”

He and Cheryl have owned Nick’s Meats for 13 1/2 years. They purchased the business from Nick Schermer, who owned and operated it for 30 years before he retired.

Since then, Todd and Cheryl have broadened the selection to add new items. For instance, Nick’s Meats offers 10 flavors of snack sticks and 10 flavors of summer sausage.

Nick’s Meats are distributed in Albert Lea and Austin and are available online. Todd said the meats are popular among travelers stopping at Trail’s Travel Center. The store in Hayward can draw people from a 100-mile radius, particularly in the shopping season leading up to Christmas. Its busiest time of year, however, is when hunters bring deer to be made into venison for consumption.

Todd said he enjoys making sausage and loves to experiment with new ideas.

Before owning Nick’s Meats, he worked at Lou-Rich for 19 years, first as a machinist and then as a supervisor.