Article By Christie Galeano-DeMott 

To continue our monthly Mom & Pop Shop series, which is highlighting family-run small businesses in our community, we sat down with The Butcher & The Bar’s co-owner Eric Anderson to talk all things meat and why this isn’t your ordinary butcher or bar.

 It all started when Anderson joined The Club at Quail Ridge and befriended executive sous chef Dan Ramos and bar/dining room manager Marit Hedeen. Three years ago, when they were all ready for the next chapter in their respective lives, they decided to go into business together. Initially they didn’t really know what that meant and spent countless hours at the Copperpoint brewery sipping on beers and brainstorming.

What they did know was that chef Dan and chef-butcher Jason Brown, who founded Red Splendor, where they made and sold sausages and bone broths, wanted to open a craft sandwich shop. Plus, Marit had plenty of bar managing experience as the former co-owner of Delray bar Fitzy’s. Anderson, who is a pharmacist by trade, grew up lending a hand when needed in his dad’s franchised McDonald’s, and today oversees all the business operations of the venue including the finances, human resources and marketing. We chatted with him to find out more about about his newest venture and what makes it so special.

What do you strive for at The Butcher & The Bar?

To provide that level of hospitality where people feel like they’re at your house having an amazing experience. There’s nothing better than that.

What’s so unique about this place?

We’re not a restaurant. We’re a bar that has really good food. We’re also a whole-animal butcher, which means we break down the animals ourselves and this allows us to provide customers with specialty cuts, like picanha. 

We only use Florida products; our partner ranchers deliver the beef and pork personally so that we can be transparent with customers on exactly where the animal came from, what it ate and how old it was. We also work with partner farmers who supply eggs, fruits and vegetables.

We’re a 100% scratch kitchen. We dry age, cure and smoke our meats and make everything in house including our sausages, mayo, ketchup and pickled goods. 

OK, now let’s talk cocktails. What can we expect at the bar?

Our general concept is we want to provide a premium–not pretentious–experience. We have drinks that are approachable, but we also have high-end bourbon, whiskey and tequila. We do riffs on old school cocktails.

Your menu is always rotating. Tell us about it.

For lunch we serve craft sandwiches and for dinner we do a full change over and serve small American tapas designed for sharing, like our pickle and pimento dish, oven roasted potato wedges, our rotating sliders, special steak cuts and a rotating charcuterie board.

What can we look forward to in the upcoming months?

We’re continuing our all-day Sunday brunch, Monday night tastings or pairing dinners, and we’re launching a butchering class this summer.

510 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach; 561.903.7630; butcherandbar.com

Original Article: https://www.bocamag.com/mom-and-pop-shop-butcher-bar/