Generations of Sustainable Beef Production

From providing meat to consumers from a local shop in 1870 to our online store in 2020, our family has been continuing the cattle ranching tradition on the Central Coast Ranges of California for six generations and counting. It all started in 1870 when Ercole Biaggini landed in Cayucos, California on a ship straight from Switzerland. Cayucos was nothing but a settlement at that time, so Ercole started to buy local cattle in the area and became the first butcher in Cayucos. He started selling meat out of his house in town and he called it the Cayucos Meat Market.

In 1890 his love of harvesting beef led him to claiming ranchland on the coast of Cayucos in an effort to start raising his own cattle. His son Edward Senior (Ed) decided to carry on the tradition and he became heavily involved in the cattle business in San Luis Obispo County. Edward was the joke of the town when he drove the first Aberdeen Black Angus cattle on the Coast of California through Cayucos.  He had them railed to San Luis Obispo from Iowa, and then proceeded to cattle drive them from San Luis Obispo to Cayucos.  Nowadays the Central Coast hills sides primarily boast Angus cattle.

Ed was one of the founders of the California Mid-State Fair and was one of the first fair board members. He was one of the founders of the Replacement Heifer show at the fair as well. Ed donated the first Black Angus cattle to our local college, California Polytechnic University to start research on their first Angus herd. Elenore, Ed Sr.s’ daughter, married Mike Molnar. Their youngest son Pat Molnar carried on the ranching tradition as he attended Cal Poly and then created Molnar Cattle, LLC. From Ercole to Ed to our family, raising cattle in Cayucos has been a Biaggini/Molnar family tradition that we hope to carry on for the next six generations.