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Local butcher prepares to step out on his own Date published: 8/8/2009
BY EMILY BATTLE All Lee Russell wanted to do was help people buy better meat. In the past year, though, he's learned that getting out of the supermarket and into his own storefront is no simple matter. From choosing a location to getting a small business loan to working unexpected costs into his budget, Russell has learned just how much it really takes to achieve his dream of owning his own butcher shop. But now, as Abby Construction moves along with work on his 950-square-foot William Street storefront, Russell is hopeful that opening day is near for his shop, Olde Towne Butcher. He's shooting for early September. Russell, 59, wasn't unhappy in his job in the meat department of Costco's Newington store. But he could have done without the commute, which sometimes took as long as three to five hours, and the supermarket was so busy that it limited him from being able to make special cuts or talk one-on-one with customers about how to cook particular cuts of meat. "I always felt unfulfilled because of the lack of customer service," he said. Russell got into the butcher's trade in the late 1980s, after he lost his job as a machinist with Eastern Airlines because the airline went out of business. He got into a two-year training program with Giant, a program he says he was lucky to find, and worked in supermarket meat departments until he left his job at Costco last September to set out on his own. Along the way, Russell saw changes in the way people bought meat at the supermarket. When stores moved away from making ground beef from materials of their choosing, and began using prepackaged tubes of leftover animal parts sent directly from meat suppliers, Russell said he felt uncomfortable. He plans to make his own ground beef at his shop, and if you venture in, he will probably urge you to smell it. He maintains that raw ground beef should smell so sweet and appetizing that you want to eat it as it is (not that you should). It shouldn't lack fragrance or smell off-putting. Russell also watched customers begin to buy meat more and more based solely on the price label on the package, without looking at the thickness of a steak or its quality.
that link I posted should have no space between the cr and
ash... it's one word: crash
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/062005/06302005/cr
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"I always felt unfulfilled because of the lack of customer service," he said. Mr. Russell will be personally invested in his business and his community. That is something we've lost with the virulent spread of corporations run by soulless MBA's focused on sucking every last penny of profit from a consumer. I will go out of my way to give Mr Russell my business -- as I see it as a wise investment in my community.
It's about time we had a real butcher in town.
Wow, I can't wait. I'll definitely be supporting your business. Totally agree with mr_science, I've been getting custom butchered beef from the Silver family for about 15 years. Nice family run businees, really good people, and the beef is the best I've had since I left Minnesota. It's just not everyday I can justify buying half a cow for a really great ribeye. Start it up Mr Russell, we'll support you!
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