Friend of mine operated a butcher shop in Ohio for a decade or more. Only a bitter divorce wrecked it.
The reason for their survival is the cost of eating out is so high. What does eating out have to do with butcher shops, you ask?
WOW, thanks for asking! What a great segue!
Imagine this. You and wife and 1.8 kids go out to dinner at a lower end steak place - Longhorn, Texas Roadhouse, etc. You see the steaks as you walk in. If they are Choice, you are having a lucky day. At best, they are high end Select, low end Choice, and the price tag on this steak with the fixins' is nearly $20, $25 if you go ribeye. Middle of the road steak joints like Saltgrass are charging you $35/steak. You go to a butcher shop, and you can get USDA Prime ribeyes for $15-18/lb. A nice thick cut one is going to be roughly 1#, slightly thinner, 0.8#. So, between $13-18 per steak. Prime. $4 for 4 bakers, and $0.80 for 4 ears of super sweet bicolor corn, and you have yourself a meal for the ages compared to the lackluster chunk of meat at TRH. So, instead of dropping $100-125 for 4 steak dinners + $3.50 sodas and $8 adult drinks at restaurant, you spend $70 for a home cooked meal that is so far and away better than the restaurant.
No, you don't do this every night, but as a replacement for eating out, save yourself $50, and get a meal that is exponentially better. What does this have to do with butcher shops, you ask? ...
WOW, thanks, (NO NO NO< you already did this schtick! move along!)
Who goes to Publix or Kroger to buy Prime cuts? If you are going to get Prime meats, you go to the butcher shop. If you are going to drop that $70 on meat for one meal, you want it to be the best, the freshest, and you want it cut to order, not just taking what's available in the shrink wrap. Tossing $3.99 worth of burger is acceptable, tossing $70 of steak is a crime! It's a risk aversion activity.
Plus, for me, prepping and grilling a steak makes for a fine afternoon. The smell of crushed garlic, olive oil, and Worcestershire on your fingertips for hours. The taste of the wine or beer while you tend the grill. Chatting with kids, getting them to run you little errands while you watch the flames so you can interact with them. It's just an enjoyable experience. Can you say the same for a visit to your local chain restaurant?
Friend of mine operated a butcher shop in Ohio for a decade or more. Only a bitter divorce wrecked it.
The reason for their survival is the cost of eating out is so high. What does eating out have to do with butcher shops, you ask?
WOW, thanks for asking! What a great segue!
Imagine this. You and wife and 1.8 kids go out to dinner at a lower end steak place - Longhorn, Texas Roadhouse, etc. You see the steaks as you walk in. If they are Choice, you are having a lucky day. At best, they are high end Select, low end Choice, and the price tag on this steak with the fixins' is nearly $20, $25 if you go ribeye. Middle of the road steak joints like Saltgrass are charging you $35/steak. You go to a butcher shop, and you can get USDA Prime ribeyes for $15-18/lb. A nice thick cut one is going to be roughly 1#, slightly thinner, 0.8#. So, between $13-18 per steak. Prime. $4 for 4 bakers, and $0.80 for 4 ears of super sweet bicolor corn, and you have yourself a meal for the ages compared to the lackluster chunk of meat at TRH. So, instead of dropping $100-125 for 4 steak dinners + $3.50 sodas and $8 adult drinks at restaurant, you spend $70 for a home cooked meal that is so far and away better than the restaurant.
No, you don't do this every night, but as a replacement for eating out, save yourself $50, and get a meal that is exponentially better. What does this have to do with butcher shops, you ask? ...
WOW, thanks, (NO NO NO< you already did this schtick! move along!)
Who goes to Publix or Kroger to buy Prime cuts? If you are going to get Prime meats, you go to the butcher shop. If you are going to drop that $70 on meat for one meal, you want it to be the best, the freshest, and you want it cut to order, not just taking what's available in the shrink wrap. Tossing $3.99 worth of burger is acceptable, tossing $70 of steak is a crime! It's a risk aversion activity.
Plus, for me, prepping and grilling a steak makes for a fine afternoon. The smell of crushed garlic, olive oil, and Worcestershire on your fingertips for hours. The taste of the wine or beer while you tend the grill. Chatting with kids, getting them to run you little errands while you watch the flames so you can interact with them. It's just an enjoyable experience. Can you say the same for a visit to your local chain restaurant?
Friend of mine operated a butcher shop in Ohio for a decade or more. Only a bitter divorce wrecked it.
The reason for their survival is the cost of eating out is so high. What does eating out have to do with butcher shops, you ask?
WOW, thanks for asking! What a great segue!
Imagine this. You and wife and 1.8 kids go out to dinner at a lower end steak place - Longhorn, Texas Roadhouse, etc. You see the steaks as you walk in. If they are Choice, you are having a lucky day. At best, they are high end Select, low end Choice, and the price tag on this steak with the fixins' is nearly $20, $25 if you go ribeye. Middle of the road steak joints like Saltgrass are charging you $35/steak. You go to a butcher shop, and you can get USDA Prime ribeyes for $15-18/lb. A nice thick cut one is going to be roughly 1#, slightly thinner, 0.8#. So, between $13-18 per steak. Prime. $4 for 4 bakers, and $0.80 for 4 ears of super sweet bicolor corn, and you have yourself a meal for the ages compared to the lackluster chunk of meat at TRH. So, instead of dropping $100-125 for 4 steak dinners + $3.50 sodas and $8 adult drinks at restaurant, you spend $70 for a home cooked meal that is so far and away better than the restaurant.
No, you don't do this every night, but as a replacement for eating out, save yourself $50, and get a meal that is exponentially better. What does this have to do with butcher shops, you ask? ...
WOW, thanks, (NO NO NO< you already did this schtick! move along!)
Who goes to Publix or Kroger to buy Prime cuts? If you are going to get Prime meats, you go to the butcher shop. If you are going to drop that $70 on meat for one meal, you want it to be the best, the freshest, and you want it cut to order, not just taking what's available in the shrink wrap. Tossing $3.99 worth of burger is acceptable, tossing $70 of steak is a crime! It's a risk aversion activity.
Plus, for me, prepping and grilling a steak makes for a fine afternoon. The smell of crushed garlic, olive oil, and Worcestershire on your fingertips for hours. The taste of the wine or beer while you tend the grill. Chatting with kids, getting them to run you little errands while you watch the flames so you can interact with them. It's just an enjoyable experience. Can you say the same for a visit to your local chain restaurant?