Students at Oratory are multi-talented. Some play sports, others make art, and still, others may make music or sing. However, there is one particular student that is adept at making sandwiches and serving customers. That student is senior Cole Noss. Cole is known by many titles: Fencing Captain, 12th Grade Representative,  and Yearbook Photo Editor, just to name a few. For this article, however, he will go by Meat House Employee and Sandwich Extraordinaire. 

Cole has worked at The Meat House, a deli and supermarket in Summit, for two years at this point. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Oratory alumnus Jake Noss, Cole began working at The Meat House as a way to make money on the weekends. He explained to me that his main task when he works there is to either make sandwiches, chop meat, or serve the customers. Most of the time he is responsible for the counter, taking the customers’ orders and making sure that they get quality service. The Meat House is best known for its titular product, meat, and so Cole often uses the deli meat slicer, which if operated incorrectly could result in a lost finger. As an aside, at my own job, I also operate these slicers, and they are actually pretty fun once you know how to not chop off your finger.

Personally, I have gone to The Meat House many times, and I am always impressed by their quality products. I have even seen Cole working there with my own eyes, along with all of his coworkers. Cole works with a very diverse entourage, including Deontae the manager, Qasim or “Q” the master butcher, Bryan the veteran butcher, and Scott the master of cooking. Cole mentioned specifically a woman named Tabitha, who is basically the “mother” coworker, who makes the best mac and cheese that Cole has even eaten. Make sure to say “Hi” to them if you ever venture in!

The Meat House operations are not simply limited to within the walls of the building. The business also operates a catering service, which can bring food to customers for parties or events in the famous Meat House Truck. When I asked him about his experience on catering runs, Cole had this to say: “There was this time I dropped a grill on my hand. I was moving a grill and the wheel slipped off a ledge, and I dropped it on my hand with enough force that it cut me.” Another time, the company had a deal at a pool in which they could sell food to those who were going there. Cole recounted that they were there for 6 hours, and they sold 4 burgers in total. It turned out that someone had set up a rival snack stand across on the other side of the pool, taking away all the customers. Despite these funny moments, Cole told me that he always has a great time on catering trips. 

I made sure to ask Cole if he had any other funny stories that he may want to share. He told me, “I accidentally knocked over a rack of hot sauce and had to hold it up with one hand and call someone with the other hand in order to get help. It fell halfway and then I caught it. We lost about 5 bottles of hot sauce.” He also explained to me that the managers of the business can watch their employees over the cameras, and occasionally they like to mess with their workers. Cole told me that he once was eating a sandwich he had made for himself, when his manager called him and said, “That’s a nice sandwich you’re eating there,” just to scare him and play a prank on him. 

To you, the Omega readers, Cole only had this to say: “Meat shop for the win.” Wise words from the Meat House guru.

Working in high school is a great way to gain experience in the world, and Cole has learned that firsthand. If you ever want to stop by and see him in action, he works on Sundays in the early afternoon.

A special thanks to Cole Noss for his help in writing this article!