Go Local: The Meat House

January 21, 2010 | Story by: Community Contributor | Categories: Food, Go Local, Shop & Dine

Story and pictures by Brendan Bailey for CaryCitizen

Cary, NC – There’s no doubt. The Meat House in Saltbox Village, set to open on Saturday, isn’t your father’s butcher shop.

Instead of walking into the usual butcher shop with a tall, glass refrigerated counter and a grouchy butcher yelling out the current order number, customers at The Meat House are greeted at the door.

Customers are welcomed to sample a wide variety of chips, dips and salsas, marinated beef tips and chicken.

GATOR, ELK AND CALF THYMUS

While The Meat House offers all-natural, humane beef & chicken, pork and lamb, the store is loaded with a wide variety of wines, beer, pasta, breads, cheeses, rubs, produce and more.  Customers can purchase “made-to-order” sandwiches made from quality Boar’s Head meats and cheeses.

Owner Derek Wilkins says that personal service is the difference that customers will find when comparing The Meat House with local grocery stores.

“If you have a question about a specific cut of meat, an employee will come out from behind the counter and help you find exactly the cut that you’re looking for.  They’ll even bring out the whole slab of meat for you to select your cut,” says Wilkins.

The Meat House also takes orders for exotic meats like alligator or elk, which require a 2-3 day notice.  The store just received their first exotic meat order: “sweet bread” (calf thymus).

“We’re going to see what people are asking for.  If there’s demand for something specific that we don’t currently carry, we’ll add it,” says Wilkins.

The Meat House also provides a wide variety of vacuum-packed marinated meats and vegetable sides, perfect for cookouts and tailgating, including broccoli with cheese sauce, asparagus with herb butter and sliced red potatoes in marinade.  Wilkins expects that the marinated beef tips will be the store’s biggest seller.

ENTREPRENEURS IN CARY

After an 18 year career with Time Warner Cable, Derek is opening The Meat Store with his parents Craig and Cynthia.  Together, they plan on adding more stores in the Triangle in near future.  Wilkins is happy with his first location, which happens to be the first Meat House franchise in North Carolina.

“The timing was perfect!  Saltbox Village is a good fit with all the other specialty stores,” says Wilkins.

The Meat House officially opens Saturday, January 23, but the doors are likely open for curious customers who may already smell steak and chicken being cooked on the grill.

More pix from Brendan ~