With their first child due in January, Arlington resident and military veteran Chris Tapp and his wife, Kristen, were looking to make a career change that didn’t involve deployment.

In his down time, Tapp had always loved chilling out and manning his barbecue grill in the back yard, so he began thinking of ways to turn one of his passions into a livelihood.

Fast forward to today, and Louie’s Deli & Meat Market is preparing to open in Arlington next month. The concept is based on a family business, Louie’s P&R, owned by Tapp’s Uncle Tony in Illinois (Louie was actually Tony’s father). The business was established in 1957, a fact reflected in the new store’s logo.

“This store has been in my family for a long, long, long time, and it just intrigued me,” Tapp said. “We’re not affiliated with (Louie’s P&R) at all. We’re called Louie’s and just taking his concept. We’re going to make fresh Italian sausages, garlic sausages, we’ll have an Italian beef sandwich … . These are all things that Louie did.”

He hopes his place will become a neighborhood spot for regulars, who he and his family will get to know by name.

“I don’t want to be like the big chains where you’re just another person,” Tapp said. “We want that face-to-face interaction with our customers.”

Tapp is a native Memphian who graduated from Bolton High School in the mid-2000s and then entered the Air Force, where he spent eight years on active duty and a couple of years as a contractor. He and his family moved to Arlington two years ago.

“Arlington, Lakeland and Bartlett need something like this,” he said. “Out in this rural area, there’s really nothing like this around. To get good quality meat, you have to drive a good ways. So we’re just trying to provide what I feel is much- needed service.”

The 1,750-square-foot space at 11695 U.S. 70, directly behind AutoZone, was previously used as a hair salon. Converting it into a shop and restaurant required gutting the space to change the layout. The new design includes a meat-processing room where the steaks will be cut and sausages and bratwursts will be made.

“Everything will be fresh. I’m going to bring specialty cuts that people can’t get at stores like Kroger,” said Tapp, who plans to offer tri-tips, porterhouses, T-bones, ribeyes, New York strips, filets, chuck roast, pork chops, pork bellies and more. “And then we’ll also have a deli side so folks can come in and get a sandwich.”

The deli will include 25 deli meats and a variety of cheeses. The menu features “suggestions” like the Tony’s Special (smokehouse ham, Genoa salami and hot pepper cheese), the New Orleans muffuletta or a gyro. Customers also can order their own custom creations. Italian desserts will include cannolis, tiramisu and lemon cake.

The store also will sell seasoning, rubs and sauces made by Louie’s Seasoning Co., Atlanta Grill Co. and Hard Core Carnivore.

Tapp’s mother, father and wife will work at the shop part-time, and he plans to hire three or four full-time employees.

Even Uncle Tony is planning to travel from Illinois to help with the grand opening, which Tapp hopes will be by mid-October.

“We’re excited about the opening of Louie’s Deli & Meat Market, and from the response on social media and what I’m hearing in the public, many folks in Arlington are excited about having a meat market option here,” Arlington Chamber of Commerce Director Tonia Howell said. “I think the community will really embrace his business.”

Already before opening, Tapp is working with the town’s BBQ FallFest committee on providing steaks for the competition, which is Oct. 18-19 at Arlington’s Douglass Road Park.