Do any members have their own butchers shop?

[HarryB97]

Our local butcher is thinking of retiring and I have always fancied a butchers shop. It's in the middle of the very busy large village/small town and has been there for decades. We have our own cattle & sheep etc which we could supply to the shop but after rent, business rates and staff etc would it be worth the hassle or best for it to stay as a dream?

 

[spin cycle]

go for it

 

[davidroberts30]

Nothing ventured nothing gained

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Go for it!

 

[Top Tip.]

Never been a better time to invest in a butchers shop.

 

[Tim W]

It may not make a fortune in it's own right but must add some value to the farm stock?
If you can find a good butcher with a bit of business sense I'm sure it's worth a go

 

[Bury the Trash]

Butchers shop in a good position is a reasonable proposition ........well better than a small abattoir thats not so good these days unfortunately, even for the well established.

 

[yellowbelly]

You're gonna need a good butcher who you can trust.

I'm assuming you're not going to be in the shop yourself. I often think a situation such as this needs somebody running it, on a day to day basis, that's a partner or on some performance related remuneration.

Go for it and keep us posted

Oh, and by the way, remember to always have plenty of 'tomahawks' and 'picanhas' in stock

 

[delilah]

It's a big commitment, take the time to visit a few other farmer/butcher enterprises, not necessarily making yourself known, just as a punter. One I would recommend:

https://www.dunwoodfarm.co.uk/our-farm/butchers-shop/

 

[Hilly]

It will be all about the staff staff staff staff of you like dealing with staff do it if not don’t .

 

[Tomo23]

It's a big commitment, take the time to visit a few other farmer/butcher enterprises, not necessarily making yourself known, just as a punter. One I would recommend:

https://www.dunwoodfarm.co.uk/our-farm/butchers-shop/

I drive through ipstones regular and there's always a queue outside there. They're doing something right. Couple of good butchers down in Leek town which are busy as well.

 

[Highland Mule]

Depends. Do you want to be a butcher or a farmer? Nobody has time to do both properly, so you’ll have to delegate one or both.

 

[HarryB97]

You're gonna need a good butcher who you can trust.

I'm assuming you're not going to be in the shop yourself. I often think a situation such as this needs somebody running it, on a day to day basis, that's a partner or on some performance related remuneration.

Go for it and keep us posted

Oh, and by the way, remember to always have plenty of 'tomahawks' and 'picanhas' in stock

I definitely wouldn't be in the shjop

You're gonna need a good butcher who you can trust.

I'm assuming you're not going to be in the shop yourself. I often think a situation such as this needs somebody running it, on a day to day basis, that's a partner or on some performance related remuneration.

Go for it and keep us posted

Oh, and by the way, remember to always have plenty of 'tomahawks' and 'picanhas' in stock

I definitely won’t be in the shop myself, luckily there is another young guy who has worked in there for a fair few years who would hopefully be able to step up and manage the day to day running of it.
Excellent point how could I forget about the Picanhas

 

[HarryB97]

Depends. Do you want to be a butcher or a farmer? Nobody has time to do both properly, so you’ll have to delegate one or both.

I will stick to the farming and have some one manage/run it

 

[HarryB97]

It will be all about the staff staff staff staff of you like dealing with staff do it if not don’t .

It depends how competent they are currently I only have to deal with myself which makes life easy!

 

[HarryB97]

It may not make a fortune in it's own right but must add some value to the farm stock?
If you can find a good butcher with a bit of business sense I'm sure it's worth a go

That’s exactly my thinking it’ll hopefully add some value as well as spread risk

 

[borderterribles]

We retail our own meat, via an on-farm butchery and regular market stalls, so not a fixed shop as such. There are some butcher's shops that I'd be interested in, and plenty that I wouldn't be paid to take on .
Location, location, location ( and clientèle).
Does the existing butcher buy sides or whole beasts now, or just vac packed primals? If they do still buy whole sides, are they of the type and quality that you could supply? As mentioned above, staff retention is a massive issue in butchery ,as it is in agriculture generally and for pretty much the same reasons.

 

[Hilly]

It depends how competent they are currently I only have to deal with myself which makes life easy!

If you always wanted to do it I’d go for it ! But be aware staff will be a massive issue all the time, it is for most people employing .

 

[Fake it ‘til you make it]

We retail our own meat, via an on-farm butchery and regular market stalls, so not a fixed shop as such. There are some butcher's shops that I'd be interested in, and plenty that I wouldn't be paid to take on .
Location, location, location ( and clientèle).
Does the existing butcher buy sides or whole beasts now, or just vac packed primals? If they do still buy whole sides, are they of the type and quality that you could supply? As mentioned above, staff retention is a massive issue in butchery ,as it is in agriculture generally and for pretty much the same reasons.

100 per cent. If the shop is run on traditional (carcase) lines, and has a discerning clientele that value quality, provenance and service, then the acquisition could add value to both businesses. If the shop trades on price, and they do not process whole carcases, then it could be a square peg in a round hole.

I have recently sold my share in a butchers shop, and have a bit of experience in this area. Happy for OP to PM me if they want my thoughts...

 

[Highland Mule]

taff retention is a massive issue in butchery

staff will be a massive issue all the time

currently I only have to deal with myself which makes life easy!

This would be my concern. Can you manage staff, and chose not to, or is it a problem for you? Do you know your way around a set of accounts and can you spot the opportunities to add profit (n.b. it's not by haemoraging sirloin steaks to sell the occassional picahana.)