Kirsten Kilpatrick, inside the meat locker at B&B Butchers and Restaurant.
The traditional butcher shop has become a figment of the olden days, with the supermarket’s seeming takeover of the modern family’s grocery routine. In Fort Worth, however, the past two years have given rise to at least three new butcher shops — all catering to more discerning palates with a focus on high-end meats like Wagyu and Kobe.
It’s a good time to be in beef, too. According to Grand View Research Inc., the global beef market size is expected to reach $383.5 billion by 2025.
Still, while Fort Worth’s three newest butcher shops are in the same business (and essentially the same neighborhood on the west side), no shop has a beef with the other (at least none blatantly disclosed to the magazine). Instead, each has its own niche and business model that they say makes them, well, a cut above the rest.
Don Canada Jr. of Fort Supply Co.
Where to Find Them: Roy Pope Grocery, 2300 Merrick St.
Top Sellers: Bison burgers, elk burgers, steaks
Fort Supply Co. got an unconventional start when co-founder Don Canada Jr. “got mad at jerky” he bought from the store and decided to make his own using Wagyu beef. After some success selling his product at WeWork, he decided to delve deeper into the meat business. He soon partnered with local chef Andrew Dilda and, along with Canada’s fiancée, Stacey Sargent Cooper, the trio created Fort Supply Co.
The company’s focus is buying direct from ranches in the Upper Midwest, eliminating the middle men. Initially, the company would take preorders and host a “meat drop” at a local distillery to deliver their goods. They’ve temporarily discontinued the meat drops, instead selling at Roy Pope Grocery under the name “Fort Butcher,” Fort Supply Co.’s retail arm.
Fort Supply Co. specializes in Wagyu as well as game meats like bison, elk, venison, wild hog, pheasant and rabbit. The plan is to keep business in Fort Worth for the time being and build a clientele of executive chefs and fine-dining restaurants.
“Texas was about oil gushers; right now, it’s cows. It’s beef. Beef is climaxing,” Canada says. “People are paying a lot more for it; they want to know where it came from, what’s in it, how it was raised.”
B&B Butchers and Restaurant
Where to Find Them: The Shops at Clearfork, 5212 Marathon Ave.
Top Sellers: Texas Wagyu filet, Prime dry-aged rib-eye
According to B&B proprietor Benjamin Berg, a city generally needs a population of about 800,000 to 1 million in order to handle a major steakhouse.
Fort Worth’s population is just over 895,000. But from “what we’ve seen, the demand in Fort Worth is higher than the population dictates,” Berg says.
Two years after opening at The Shops at Clearfork, B&B maintains a steady following for both its steakhouse and its butcher shop, which Berg says caters more toward home grillers and foodies. In stock are the likes of Japanese A5 Wagyu and Kobe beef, American Wagyu from Snake River farms, and Prime beef from Grand Island, Nebraska.
“Right now, the demand for Prime is extremely high,” Berg says. “I think people’s tastes are moving toward higher quality meats … The customers really seem to gravitate toward Prime as opposed to what we call ‘supermarket steaks’ or ‘ungraded.’ Select or Choice are not as popular as they used to be.”
Still, Berg says a butcher shop needs more than a good product in order to survive in the industry.
“The truth is, we can go and buy from the same people, right?” he says. “So that’s when a lot of the other part comes in — the service and the experience.”
The Meat Board
Where to Find Them: Lincoln Village, 6314 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Top Sellers: Prime rib-eyes, Prime strip steaks, Prime filets
It’s still early to make concrete observations on customer demographics at The Meat Board (the shop opened Dec. 31, 2019). But, according to partner Don Rea, the draw of the Camp Bowie/Ridglea neighborhood is its mix of high-end buyers, from established residents to millennials.
“Good service and good quality works on Camp Bowie,” Rea says. “The clientele around here, that’s what they’re after.”
And while The Meat Board is in proximity with competitors B&B, Roy Pope and major grocery stores like Central Market, partner Nick Nickelson says each shop carries distinct differences. Part of what sets The Meat Board apart, for example, is its deli, which carries side dishes, cheeses, breads and desserts. The shop also looks to draw a lunch crowd with signature items like a grilled steak sandwich and BLT made with Klein hardwood smoked bacon.
“We have a nice little deli; we’re not a restaurant like B&B. They’re a restaurant first and butcher shop second; we’re a butcher shop first and a deli second,” he says. “Roy Pope is an old standard but is more of a grocery store than an old-fashioned local butcher shop.”
Nonetheless, when it comes to meat, Fort Worth is a good place to do business, Rea says.
“Fort Worth is Cowtown…they like ranching, they like oil and gas, and they like good steaks,” Rea says. “It’s the perfect place to start.”
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