The Butchery, Stowe
Our next stop was with Eric LaVigne, owner of The Butchery in Stowe. Eric likes to share a story about shoppers who commented that the cases of meat and fish looked as if they had been professionally set up and ready for photos. Jon Donnelly, the store’s general manager, looked at Eric and told the customers it was.
“It’s our job,” Eric says, “to make the cases look like they’re ready for a photo shoot every morning.”
Such a photo-ready case starts with its contents, and Eric makes sure the meats and fish that The Butchery sells are ready for their close-ups. He starts this day by cutting six New York strip steaks of the same thickness and weight, places them on a paperlined tray, and then slides it into the large meat case in between generously marbled, brick-red prime ribeye and honey-teriyaki-marinated flank steak. Piled behind the New York strip steaks is a mini-mountain of perfectly portioned stew meat. You can practically smell the warm, rich aroma of the beef stew these cuts will end up in, cooking slowly, warding off a midwinter chill, and driving you mad with joyful anticipation of supper by the fireside.
It’s not just beef that fills the case. Peering through the glass, maybe you’ll be inspired to serve duck or one of the several preparations of chicken breast. Perhaps a rack of lamb, or how about spinach-and-feta-stuffed pork chops? And if you can’t decide, there’s always the equally full seafood case to check out.
The crew at The Butchery: Jenn Stein, Jon Donnelly, Eric LaVigne, and Kirstyn Quinn
The Butchery in Stowe is a small, inviting shop with a world of culinary opportunities inside.
Most of the land-based proteins in the cases at The Butchery are hormone- and antibiotic-free. As for the fish, Eric closely monitors the sustainability of various catches and buys accordingly. Fish is delivered to The Butchery six days a week.
Eric considers himself an expert fishmonger. He developed that skill and the skill of butchery when he opened Vermont Fish and Seafood in Williston in 2010 with a friend. In 2021, Eric decided he wanted to move on. He tried a desk job for a while, but when The Butchery came on the market, he jumped at the opportunity to return to something he loved.
Being in Stowe, the shop caters to the needs of two distinct groups of customers. The first are tourists, who spend their days on skis or snowboards at this time of the year. After the last run, Eric says, “They’re sweaty and just want to cook something easy.” They can visit The Butchery and find the cases stocked with stick-to-the-ribs offerings such as handmade French-Canadian meat pies, chowders, lasagna, meatballs, and more. When they finally choose, they can be on their way home in minutes. If they wonder how to cook dinner, The Butchery has taken care of that; every item comes with precise cooking instructions.
The second group, the locals and the locals-adjacent second-home owners, are the meat-and-potatoes of The Butchery’s clientele. It is with these people that Eric and his staff have developed a more personal relationship. They know which customer comes for salmon every Tuesday and how much they’ll ask for, and they know others who may linger over the meat and seafood cases, tormented by so many carefully prepared and expertly presented choices. And although it may be hard to choose, these customers can rest assured knowing that the next time they visit, the options will be just as plentiful and just as tempting.
One of The Butchery’s luscious bone-in rib eye steaks ready for its close-up—and your cast-iron skillet or grill
