As Local Butcher Shops Try to Keep Up with Demand, Washington Farms Still Struggle
Early in March, at the beginning of Seattle’s COVID-19 outbreak, Ballard butcher shop Beast and Cleaver noticed a surge in customers. With nearby supermarkets like QFC and Safeway running low on staples, people began lining up to buy up as much meat as they could from the shop, which is one of the only independent butcheries in the neighborhood. One guy purchased about $400 worth, and it took nearly 20 minutes to fulfill his order. What would have been a normally quiet Tuesday had become a huge sales boom.
Ever since Washington implemented its stay-at-home order to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, business at Beast and Cleaver has continued to be robust. Butcher shops are considered among the state’s essential services, and so are allowed to stay open. With so many customers looking to stock up on supplies, owner Kevin Smith has had to implement strict social distancing measures to make sure they don’t crowd into the small shop. Among them are curbside pickup and an eight-foot cable connected to the payment device, so that there’s enough space between customers and staff (the shop has also stopped accepting cash).
“Our customers have been so good sticking with the government guidelines,” Smith says. “People are listening.”
But while Smith tries to address public health concerns, he has also heard legitimate worries about an overall grim economic picture for Pacific Northwest farms. Preservation Meat Collective, the purveyor that sells Smith premium cuts from local, sustainable farms it partners with, has seen a steep drop in business since the COVID-19 crisis began, as most restaurants have cut their orders way down — or completely to zero. While butcher shops like Beast and Cleaver have done brisk business, it hasn’t been enough for many local meat purveyors to make up for the losses in other areas.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/as-local-butcher-shops-try-to-keep-up-with-demand-washington-farms-still-struggle/ar-BB125WOr?ocid=hplocalnews
