Since moving from Los Angeles to southern Charlotte, North Carolina, we'd been looking for places that sell minimally processed food, such as natural foods and organic foods. While searching the web, we discovered What's Your Beef, a butcher shop/deli that sells only natural meats of all kinds. They moved up to Charlotte's Ballantyne area from Waxhaw, which is just south of Charlotte.
Owned and operated by Victor Giroux and John Saari, What's Your Beef is a real live butcher that caters to a wide range of meats cut to order, selling only natural meats, which is a very wise and safe way to eat. According to their website:
All our beef products have NO hormones, NO steroids, and NO antibiotics which makes the beef much more healthy to eat. Also, our beef has an 18-21 day dry-aging process that makes it exceptionally tender and flavorful. Enjoy one taste of our USDA 100% all natural beef, and you'll understand why our beef is the #1 choice for healthy families in North Carolina!
Their website has similar statements about their chickens, lamb, pork and veal. We do understand that much (or all?) of the meats are from local farmers. While they don't claim that any of it is certified organic (except, we believe, the buffalo meat), some years of looking into organics (and talking to an organic farmer or two) have given us to understand that obtaining an organic certification can be a lengthy and cost-prohibitive procedure for small farmers. Therefore, it's important to "know your farmer", as they say.
We first visited What's Your Beef while they were still located in Waxhaw, N.C., and we bought all kinds of meats, such as chicken, beef steak, beef chuck (ground beef), pork chops, sausage and meat balls. We found them all to be delicious as well as nutritious.
Coming from the west coast, we noticed that the quality of the chickens is superior to the ones we had been buying in Los Angeles. We found this true with the other meats too. Don't ask me why; it could have been our imagination. All we know is that the meals were more satisfying, especially the chickens! The taste was so satisfying and that was not our imagination!
What's Your Beef Butchers
What's Your Beef is now located at 14021 Conlan Circle in Charlotte, N.C. 27288. Their phone number is 704 843-5244 (or 704 843-3640). You can email Vic at: vic@whatsyourbeefbutcher.com. And they have a website at: whatsyourbeefbutcher.com.
They are a couple of amiable guys who are quite helpful and friendly and they deserve our business, since they also have our good health in mind. Great meats! Great taste!
Rumor Alert
ADDED June 13, 2010: Another butcher told us last week that What's Your Beef is closing, and that its meat is not natural because natural meat can't be found in this area. According to What's Your Beef's manager, they've heard the rumors, and (a) they're not closing, and (b) the other butcher just hasn't found a source for natural meat in this area. The other butcher seems to be "competing" by means of rumors; in my opinion, not a healthy way to compete. The meats at What's Your Beef are just fine.
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27 Comments for "What's Your Beef butcher in Charlotte, NC"
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Robert
Comment posted on 01/24/2010 @ 4:09 pm
Do you ever work with grass-fed beef? Is so, do you cut, age or process it any differently?
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 01/24/2010 @ 8:17 pm
Hi Robert. Actually, we are not butchers ourselves. Our article was about a butcher we'd found in Charlotte.
That said, we have tried grass-fed beef in the past, but don't know much about the aging process there.
Shannon
Comment posted on 05/30/2010 @ 10:16 pm
It is my understanding they will not share the name of the "local farmer" from where their meat comes. Their unwillingness is enough for me to purchase my grass-fed beef from a local farmer and skip the (secretive) middle-man.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 05/30/2010 @ 10:26 pm
You have a point, Shannon. It does behoove us to take care where our food comes from, as well as its quality.
On the other hand, they may just be protecting their sources — otherwise, people could go directly to the source and skip them entirely. (Note that that's just speculation on my part.) I do know that, back when I was researching the Charlotte area, I'd looked at some local companies that were in essence middlemen/delivery companies, and learned where they were getting their products … at which point I could go directly to the producers.
Well, some people may wish to do just that. I don't think I'd be traveling to farms around the area, since I don't know any yet, just to get a good steak.
And, that said, it seems like a butcher could get better prices for bulk purchases, and thus make a profit anyway. But that, too, is my speculation.
Shannon
Comment posted on 05/31/2010 @ 12:34 pm
If you need local grass fed beef just let me know. ;) I can connect you directly with a farmer that prices fairly and produces delicious meat.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 05/31/2010 @ 5:46 pm
Hi Shannon. Sure, I'd love to know.
Joanna
Comment posted on 06/6/2010 @ 8:03 am
Shannon,
I would love the farmer's information as well! Thanks.
Shannon
Comment posted on 06/6/2010 @ 9:49 pm
We get grass-fed (not grain finished) from Chad at Creekside Farms.
http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M28867
We also get our pork from him, but do not buy eggs or chickens because there is soy in his feed. For soy free eggs and broilers we raise them in the backyard. ;)
His beef and pork is delicious.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 06/6/2010 @ 9:52 pm
Thanks, Shannon. This is most helpful.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 06/14/2010 @ 8:02 pm
We've added a Rumor Alert to the article above because George was told by a competing butcher that What's Your Beef was not only moving, but that their meats were not natural because natural meats could not be found in the area. George confirmed with What's Your Beef that they're not moving and that the competing butcher simply had not been able to locate a local source of natural meat. I'm not crazy about rumor-mongering as a method of doing "business".
I wanted to add one thing: I don't think that a merchant's unwillingness to disclose his resources automatically means he/she is doing something wrong or has something to hide. I suspect it's just a matter of protecting resources, which I'd guess that many companies do. Your mileage may vary; that's just my take on it.
At any rate, if you want to drive to a farm, great. If you want to buy from a butcher, great. I'm certainly not adamant about either one. :)
Ralph
Comment posted on 09/4/2010 @ 6:28 am
The very foundation of the local food movement is transparency. This business is not transparent about their sources, which should be a red flag to the consumer. Justifying hiding the source so the consumer won't skip the middleman by buying from the farmer raises suspicion. A butcher shop is about convenience, service and quality, as well as the ability to legally cut meat- traits most farmers cannot accomplish all at once. Buyer beware!
George Vigil
Comment posted on 09/4/2010 @ 4:20 pm
Ralph, I find your comment somewhat making a mountain out of a mole hill. I've talked with Vic from What's Your Beef and he assures me that the meat is natural, no antibiotics, hormones, etc. They get inspected by the state and they pass the inspections.
Could you explain what you mean by the "ability to legally cut meat"? Is there some law you are alluding to?
Are you saying that farmers grow meats? I suppose it's possible for a farmer to also grow meats. Are you saying that the farmers are responsible for for cutting the meat that a butcher puts out to sell?
I see in many of their displays the cut of beef and the meat where it was cut from. That's pretty specific. They are, after all, butchers!
Now I know I'm not some person who knows the business of a butcher. But, I've been buying from butchers ever since I was educated on eating clean meats; not shot up with chemicals and estrogen and plastered with preservatives to keep on a shelf for a very long time.
When I watch these guys cut the meat right in front of me, and compare to whatever the point you are making, my attention goes to you, Ralph.
What's Your Beef sells meats that are great tasting; their service is very good. They even engage in great conversations and are friendly in a real or natural way. They even tolerate my weird humor, which is impressive. I don't see your implied and specious and probably baseless accusation.
As far as the caveat emptor of "buyer beware," I'm wondering if you are connected to a rival store, here in South Charlotte, playing some dirty tactic. If so, it's very bad business! Generalities, half-truths and prevarications will come back to haunt you. If you are willing to pull such shenanigans on your competition, what are you willing to do with your own products that you are selling. There's also the rule about the fellow who accuses others of what that fellow is guilty of. Food is something that everybody needs. There are plenty of people to sell to. Don't be a pig and not allow others to eat at the trough. If you can't allow competition … that alone speaks volumes about your own products.
The way you word your post making it of foundational and great importance to the transparency of the local food movement. Wow!
Reader beware of Ralph!
George Vigil
Comment posted on 09/4/2010 @ 4:59 pm
I've made a mistake by saying that Ralph is making a mountain out of a mole hill. It's more like Ralph is finding fault where this is no fault. A butcher business selling at the retail level doesn't have to state their sources of meat so that Ralph will be satisfied. Ralph is using "transparency" as a fault finding action and that argument holds no water due to a missing bottom: If a butcher business represents that their meat is natural and this is proven as true, that is transparent. If we like the prices, and we like the product, then we will tend to buy, knowing and having confidence that what is represented by the butcher business is true.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 09/4/2010 @ 5:05 pm
George, as I recall, you told me that someone at The Meat House had stated that What's Your Beef Butcher could not possibly have natural meats because natural meat can't be found in this area — and that Vic of What's Your Beef corrected this by stating that The Meat House just hadn't found a source yet.
Well enough, but this does tell you what The Meat House does not have: natural meats.
That said, here's a pertinent (and rather telling) discussion at the City-Data Forums … and notice that the speaker is not hiding behind one name; she identifies herself:
George Vigil
Comment posted on 09/4/2010 @ 5:11 pm
I was told by a sales person at the Meat House that they obtain their beef meats from the Midwest. They could be natural meats.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 09/4/2010 @ 5:15 pm
Okay. So I'll change that to local natural meats.
Ralph
Comment posted on 09/7/2010 @ 9:01 pm
"Natural" meats can be found nearly everywhere because the federal definition of the word speaks nothing of animal production practices, feeds, antibiotics, hormone use, animal welfare, etc, much less origin. "Natural" beef can be raised in a heavily confined feedlot, fed a steady dose of antibiotics and hormones, GMO grains, and chicken manure and, as long as there is no food dye or msg added to the final product, the meat can be label as "natural" According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) NATURAL:
So, in terms of what any farmer or butcher tells a customer, "natural" is a label claim that is easy to legally use and sounds good but does not tell the whole story. The use of the term "natural" by what's your beef, or anyone, is not the point of my inquiry.
My concern is their prominent messaging (taken directly from their website) "raised LOCALLY with NO HORMONES, NO ANTIBIOTICS, and NO STEROIDS." With the exception of "local" these claims are regulated by FSIS and anyone using them without approval should be wary, lest the fed come calling. It is the term "local" that brought me to question the folks at "What's your beef". When I asked for the actual source (a very reasonable question from a customer and I hope I'm not the only one who has asked this) I was told that they "did not reveal their sources to protect their business". It was further explained to me that if they revealed their sources to their customers the customers would go straight to the farmer and the butcher shop would suffer. I don;t agree with this assumption for the fact that a farmer cannot easily do what a butcher can and certainly not at the utmost convenience of the customer like a well located butcher can. Of course, a farmer can legally have his meat processed and packaged and sell it from their farm but not with the service and convenience of a butcher shop. A farmer cannot be a butcher too, at least without taking on a whole other business and level of regulation that very few are currently taking on. In short, I just don't believe this is a good reason to "hide" your sources for local meat. I'll say it again, the emerging local food movement MUST be based on transparency. Without transparency "local" is just greenwashing lip service to an uneducated populace who want desperately to believe that the friendly local business person is being honest.
I sincerely hope that What's your Beef is using local meat. They were very nice and helpful and I only wish them well as I sincerely believe the local food movement needs "middle business" such as them to build the industry. However, misleading claims and greenwashing are a recipe for disaster to a small business that relies on repeat customers.
In response to some the above from the Vigils:
1) I am not associated in any way with the Meat House or any competing business in the area. I've been in only one Meat House in my life- yes, the one in Charlotte. Public badmouthing about anyone's business (if it is unsubstantiated) is almost as deplorable as greenwashing and preying on the public's confusion about food label/ production practices. That said, I did hear that Meat House was carrying some local product from Proffit Family Farms- labeled as such, I hope, but not giving the customer the impression that everything, all the time is local. As a side note: this would be really, really hard to do from a retailer and producer standpoint. If this is the case with What's Your Beef and the unnamed farmer then they should get an award- seriously.
2) If someone from the Meat House said that they could not source "natural" meat products then I hope their manager reads this and institutes a training, because that would mean that the meat house employee was also confused. If the case was that the Meat House could not find "local" I find this easy to believe. a more accurate description would be that they could not find a steady enough supply for their high volume needs of high quality product at a low enough price that they can afford to carry it and sell it. Local meats are obtainable in the marketplace, but because demand outstrips supply, there is little reason for local, no hormone, no antibiotic meat producers to sell at low commodity prices- the kinds of prices that butcher shops can afford to spend, markup, add value, sell at retail and make some money on. Folks, what I'm saying is that this is hard to do.
3) No, George, the butcher does not HAVE to reveal their sources and consumer may or may not buy depending on his answer. My assertion is that this is a very unique way of marketing "local"- never seen it done like that before. If you want to trust it, that is up to you, but don't belittle my comments as unjustified. In this case, none of these claims have been substantiated. Most honest people have nothing to hide.
4) George, you seem a little paranoid in your first response to my post, make me wonder if you work for What's your beef?!? I will try to answer some of the questions you posed. My responses to George's questions are in quotes:
—"their inspections are by the county health department only, the same as restaurants. County Health Departments do not regulate claims involving production practices such as antibiotic and hormone use, nor origin claims, such as local, etc., This inspection assures us that the place is sanitary and food is handled safely."
"A butcher shop is about convenience, service and quality, as well as the ability to legally cut meat- traits most farmers cannot accomplish all at once. Buyer beware!"
—"as I explained earlier, there are only a couple meat farmers in the country that can also successfully run a butcher shop and cut meat to order. A benefit of locally owned butcher shops that purchase from local farmers is that the farmer can grow the meat and the butcher can sell and cut the meat-this is a great relationship if the two can make money! Yes, there are laws regulating who, where and when folks can slaughter and cut up meat for commercial sale."
—"yes, farmers grow meat. A butcher under County Health Department inspection (like Meat House and Whats your Beef) cannot slaughter the animal. The animal must be taken to a USDA or NCDA inspected slaughter facility where it is killed and cut to specifications. In the case of most butcher shops, meat would come from the slaughterhouse in quarters (of the beef or pork carcass) or primals- slightly smaller parts ie. round, chuck, loin, etc. The butcher further cuts the meat down to retail cuts from there. 99.9% of butcher shops in the country, from Harris Teeter to local shops buy "boxed meat" from big packers in the midwest."
I see in many of their displays the cut of beef and the meat where it was cut from. That's pretty specific. They are, after all, butchers!
Now I know I'm not some person who knows the business of a butcher. But, I've been buying from butchers ever since I was educated on eating clean meats; not shot up with chemicals and estrogen and plastered with preservatives to keep on a shelf for a very long time.
—" my point is that marketing of "local" has become quite reckless in the marketplace. The prudent consumer should ask questions and if they do not get satisfactory answers then they should make their purchasing decisions based on this. The real problem is that most consumers don't know the right questions to ask or they simply want to trust someone because they no longer trust the conventional meat industry. The educated consumer knows the right questions to ask and demands transparency. The rest of the customers just want to believe what they are told- while paying more for it and not asking questions."
The way you word your post making it of foundational and great importance to the transparency of the local food movement. Wow!
—"i'm not implying their service is not pleasant or that their meat does not taste good. Your website appears to be a forum to discuss very important issues surrounding food production. Your own accusations and tone of this response is counter to this effort."
George Vigil
Comment posted on 09/7/2010 @ 9:43 pm
Ralph,
So good to hear your reply. It has much more specific data that a reader can get one's wits around.
My definition of "natural" has to do with obtaining food, such as meats, that are not loaded up with chemicals, preservatives, antibiotics, coloring dyes etc., so that my body does not have to process those as well as the actual food.
If a butcher advertises that that is what this butcher sells, then I'm interested. And it would be a good idea to trace it all the way back to the origin of the food, in this case the farmer, to verify that this is so.
I've also seen in California, Los Angeles, the butchers tell me that the meat is "natural" per the above definition and that it was locally raised; this was in both Whole Foods and another store that I forget the name of. Both stores posted this data on their walls in the butcher area: what was NOT in the meat and that it was local. This is what I've been used to. Local was, well, in the general area of Los Angeles. It was nothing for me to drive an hour to get somewhere. And the farm (or ranch) was located in a valley seventy or more miles north.
What would you define local to mean?
Ralph, I'm very glad you are not representing another rival store and you are not involved in any, shall we say, distastefully bad business tactics.
And I thank you for your imput. It is educational to me.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 09/7/2010 @ 9:51 pm
Hi Ralph. Just wanted to add in here that, no, we don't have a rival store in Charlotte (or anywhere else). The thing is, we were wondering if you worked at another butcher shop … and particularly one that was spreading rumors about What's Your Beef.
Ralph, your comment is interesting. I took the liberty of formatting it (with indented blockquotes) so as to make the quotes more distinguishable from your replies.
Ralph
Comment posted on 09/7/2010 @ 10:13 pm
I'm speaking from a direct experience that I had in their shop, not creating rumors. It could have been in any butcher shop in the country, my point is that if retailers are going to play the "local" card, they need to be willing to tell the whole story. Whole Foods got a lot of crap for this a few year ago- greenwashing for lack of a better word. They know what sells and what customers want to hear. Whole Foods pays marketing experts big bucks to create authentic marketing messages and most folks take it hook, line and sinker. All the big corps have successfully done it. Anytime there is huge demand for a product in the marketplace there will be folks who misrepresent their products and take advantage of consumer ignorance. Whole Foods does it, Wal Mart does it and, unfortunately, the little shop on the corner can do it too. All I ask is that consumers who seek organic and truly natural foods educate themselves, know the right questions to ask and demand TRANSPARENCY!
It does not matter what your personal definition of "natural" or "organic" means if it does not allign with what the legal definition means. Otherwise, you might be kidding yourself everytime you walk down the grocery store aisle.
Diane Vigil
Comment posted on 09/7/2010 @ 10:43 pm
Hi Ralph. That's correct; the legal definitions of these terms are what merchants must abide by (presuming they do), and what consumers ought to be aware of.
As to organic, it pays to know what the various organic labeling levels actually mean — because most of them don't mean what we might think they mean when we see the organic label.
I'm aware of some of the issues with Whole Foods, particularly that some of the vegetables they sold under their 365 Organic brand were brought over from China; and, in fact, I was called a Whole Foods "hater" when I posted about it despite the fact that we shopped at Whole Foods for decades.
At any rate, quite right that one has to be vigilant about food sources. Some stores do advertise their sources (or post them on little signs around the store), and hopefully it's all true, but beyond that, what do we know?
We can educate ourselves, and we can ask questions, but unfortunately, beyond that, it's rather cost prohibitive to follow merchants around to verify their sources — or to run tests on the food at those sources. Am I going to do it? I highly doubt it.
George Vigil
Comment posted on 09/7/2010 @ 11:00 pm
Ralph,
Are you saying this occurred with Whole Foods meats? Do you have a link to the article?
Are you saying that if say Whole Foods or Bristol Farms (I remembered the store name) say they are not allowing any chemicals or antibiotics, colorings, preservatives, pcb's mercury, etc., that they misrepresented their product? Do you have proof of this?
Of course, anyone can misrepresent a product. But I'm not going to test everything I purchase. There also is a point where one accepts the word of another as truthful.
Lying in business is murder on that business because when it is discovered that there is deception and deluding and this is disseminated broadly, that business will suffer. An example is BP (British Petroleum of Gulf infamy).
It's best to operate in honesty. I believe What's your Beef is an honest business.
What is your definition of local?
suzanne hudson
Comment posted on 09/12/2010 @ 3:15 pm
Has anyone actually done an internet search on NC grass fed beef? There are several in the area and Whole Foods carries products from these farms.
I'll be trying out What's Your Beef, as well, but several of the rumors, comments above simply have no basis. These places have been around for many years.
Elena Brown
Comment posted on 12/31/2010 @ 8:37 am
Ralph,
I agree with you 100%. Those of us who are smarter than a cow would like to know where our food comes from and WHAT THE COWS ARE FED EXACTLY. I could open a butcher shop tomorrow and get my product from Mexico and China and still say that my meat is "natural".
"NATURAL" = MALARKEY.
I want to see "GRASS-FED, FREE-RANGE, AND HORMONE/ANTIBIOTIC-FREE!!!"
Also, I do have thr right to know where my beef comes from. If What's Your Beef is too secretive to tell us, that a a HUGE red flag!
That is "my beef" for the day. BTW- to all the yuppies out there who think they are eating healthy because they pay triple at Earthfare, please educate yourself and start paying attention to labels. If an apple comes from Argentina or Mexico, you may want to re-think spending $3 on it, because you may as well get it at Walmart.
George Vigil
Comment posted on 12/31/2010 @ 1:27 pm
Elena,
We had a chance to eat organic meats from Whole Foods in Los Angeles and we didn't like the taste of the beef. We also obtained a side of organic beef from a free range grass-fed ranch in Wyoming and the taste was just too gamey and we ended up throwing out the meat.
So we ate "natural", which was defined as: fed on Nebraska grass until it came time to fatten them up, which was done on soymeal. Otherwise there were no antibiotics or hormones used. It tasted better. That was at Whole Foods. Sorry, that "natural" wasn't malarkey. A qualification here: what we consider good tasting might differ from others.
The following is part of an ad from whatsyourbeefbutchers.com here in Charlotte:
This is also not malarkey.
Re your comment:
I agree on the apples from Argentina and Mexico statement, but you didn't say WHY!
We also got food poisoned from Snickers and Milky Way Halloween candy sold at Costco that was manufactured in Mexico. Two times!
I've even seen at Earthfare pasteurized milk labeled as organic. It is my opinion that we should read the labels put on food and any time spend educating oneself on food and what is being put into it is time well spent.
And I haven't found any organic meats that I found to taste, well, for me, good! If I ever find such, I'll post the details.
Mrs. Boon
Comment posted on 06/5/2011 @ 1:09 pm
What's Your Beef is a small, locally owned INDEPENDENT shop with nothing but a meat counter run by the owners who don't do anything but butcher meat because that's their career and their livelihood.
The Meat House is the exact opposite. It's a NATIONAL CHAIN full of meat that wasn't even packaged in NC in addition to a shop full of non-meat products being sold by people who are just working a job until something better comes along.
Furthermore, I, as a matter of fact, do know where What's Your Beef gets their meat (I'm not telling, either), and can say with certainty that it is indeed both local and natural. The source of their meats not only cares about the quality of their product, but also the health, quality of life and happiness of their animals, which ultimately makes for a superior end product. They believe as I do, that we should treat animals that feed and cloth us with dignity and respect.
I also have met, and conversed with (ad nauseum), an employee for The Meat House who, after a couple of beers, became very chatty. It's no secret that they are a Boar's Head butcher, which is about as natural as Oscar Meyer, Smithfield or Johnsonville. The employee with whom I spoke confirmed to me that when you shop at The Meat House you're just paying more for the same thing you get at Harris Teeter.
Bunny
Comment posted on 07/2/2011 @ 10:15 am
I found out that you can butcher an animal in your backyard in Charlotte (even within the city limits ) if you have a certain amount of land and you must use a privacy screen so the neighbors can't see. A tarp or something like that. Call 311 and ask for animal control to find out more details. I also found out that the government is trying to make it more difficult for poor people to have access to better food by not allowing them to Food stamps for organic. I hope this butcher takes food stamps. As far as I know this law is not in affect yet but it's coming unless people take some kind of action. Considering that even military families are using them, that seems rather strange. A good resource to find out information about organic issues in your area is to go to http://www.organicconsumers.org that site is very helpful and reliable.