Eric Everhart, owner of downtown Winston Salem\u2019s newest butcher shop, knows what it means to eat good quality meat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI came from a family that didn\u2019t have everything that other families had, so we had sirloin steak. And as a child, I thought that was great until I was older and I was able to purchase a ribeye on my own, and it was just unbelievable. And from that point forward I was like, \u2018I\u2019m going to eat good meat for the rest of my life.\u2019 I may not have the money and I may not be the wealthiest person, but I am going to eat good meat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From this philosophy came Everhart\u2019s dream to one day open a butcher shop of his own, a dream that came true about 27 years ago in his hometown of Lexington, NC, about 23 miles south of Winston-Salem. Now, his dream is expanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Butcher\u2019s Block, located at 245 E. Fifth St. in downtown\u2019s Innovation Quarter, is interested in providing the downtown community with more than just your average hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everhart\u2019s shop supplies some of the highest quality meat and seafood, from freshwater oysters to authentic Japanese wagyu beef. \u201cI remember when I first got it [Japanese wagyu] in and I was like, \u2018Wow, this is crazy,\u2019 because one piece of meat was like three hundred dollars,\u201d said Everhart. The craziest part, he said, was that he sold out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost people that come into my shop are like, \u2018This is here, in Lexington?\u2019\u201d says Everhart of his flagship Lexington store. The same reaction appears in downtown Winston. President of the Downtown Winston Salem Partnership, Jason Thiel, notes it would have been hard to imagine a place like The Butcher\u2019s Block opening here 20 years ago. But Winston-Salem is changing, and retail like The Butcher\u2019s Block signals efforts to service the increasing number of people with high incomes living\u00a0 downtown. Thiel notes that new housing attracts residents who can afford high-quality meats. He also notes that the plan for most of these new housing buildings is to offer retail on the ground floor to make downtown walkable. The Butcher\u2019s Block is a perfect model of this plan, with its location at the base of the new high-end Link Apartments Building, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the tenants and the people above us and around us we are very fitting for what we offer to them, and it\u2019s a really great convenience for them,\u201d says Everhart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Everhart notes that he has not seen as much traffic in his Winston location as he had predicted, he believes this is the result of a lack of knowledge of the store\u2019s existence, having just opened on March 8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only is there a demand for expensive wagyu beef, which costs around $190.00 per pound — Customers also come in asking for specialty items ranging from lamb tenderloin to lamb tongue and kidney, which you won\u2019t find at your average grocery store. Everhart also notes that there has been a high demand for oysters, a bushel of which can go for up to $120.00 at The Butcher\u2019s Block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As his business grows, Everhart is determined to listen to community members\u2019 needs and work with local restaurants to provide them with quality meat. \u201cI\u2019m here to grow the community and provide back to the community,\u201d says Everhart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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