MEAT+POULTRY - August 2024 - 54

SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS
and they began dreaming about running their own meat shop.
Two years later, they found a closed 1,600-square-foot pizza
shop with a walk-in cooler and a four-foot meat case. The
space was a second-generation commercial kitchen and the
two of them installed all the equipment except for the walk-in
cooler. A modest sign with the name Deep Cuts Dallas was
the banner under which they renovated and operated their
fledgling enterprise.
" The place was located in Richardson (North Dallas) and
it was so small we felt claustrophobic, " Nathan recalled. " Only
looking back brings those feelings up. We had this idea that
there were so many quality restaurants in the city but few
meat shops where you could buy the quality meats that those
high-end restaurants served.
Deep Cuts
Dallas offers
premium quality
beef, pork and
poultry.
" That was in September of 2016 and our little shop was
featuring the best quality beef, including Wagyu, heritage
breeds of pork, Green Circle chickens, custom cuts,
handmade sausage, charcuterie and smoked meats, " he
said. But in the next few years, COVID-19 hit, and the world
changed for Deep Cuts.
" We had to close the retail area to the public. In our
small space we were selling $1.4 million in meats a
year before we were forced to pivot to a curbside
model in which we took meat orders by phone and
called customers back to come pick up their orders
curbside, " Abeyta said.
With no advertising budget to promote the
company, the duo used social media to get the word
out about their retail business and the top-quality
meats they offered. Meanwhile the shop won accolades
in spades. They were on Food & Wine magazine's list of the
" Top 100 Best Butcher Shops & Meat Markets in America. "
The Dallas Observer honored them as the " Reader's Choice "
category winner for four consecutive years, and StarChefs
declared their business the best of its " Rising Stars " in the
world of butchery. D Magazine also recognized the business
as the best butcher shop three years running.
GROWING OPPORTUNITIES
Then, something even more remarkable happened in 2021:
Nathan and Deena found an adjoining building with another
2,500 square feet of space, bringing their retail store's
footprint to a whopping 4,100 square feet of space, and they
now have seven full-time and four part-time employees on
staff, including the hands-on founders. During the transition
to the larger space, they noticed there was a weekend
market for takeout hot lunches, so they began offering Philly
cheesesteaks, Reubens, hot dogs and other simple fare to the
point that they could barely keep up with the demand.
" That's a good problem to have, " Abeyta said. " We talk
constantly about the possibility of adding another location but
that's a moving target. We have to pick and choose what we
are capable of doing well. "
54 MEAT+POULTRY | 08.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
http://www.meatpoultry.com
MEAT+POULTRY - August 2024

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