Why Your Local
Should Be Your New Best Friend
The benefits of shopping at your neighborhood butcher shop are as plentiful as the cuts of meat they carry.
BY JILL BECKER
Whenever I drive by a butcher shop, I’ m always wondering why someone would shop there instead of just going to the meat counter at their local chain grocery store. To get some answers, I reached out to Sal Siliezar of Findley’ s Butcher Shop, which has been a fixture in downtown Cartersville since 2010. He was happy to fill me in, so let’ s get into the meat of the matter.
Personal Attention and Top-Notch Advice
According to Siliezar, one of the biggest benefits of going to a butcher shop is the personalized service. You’ ll be waited on by a knowledgeable staff who’ s happy to answer whatever questions you may have. Let’ s say, for example, it’ s the holiday season and you’ re trying to find the most appropriate thing to cook up for your family gathering. You have in mind to do a rib roast but have no idea how much to buy for the number of people you’ re serving. That’ s where your butcher comes in. They’ ll likely ask you a couple of questions of their own, like,“ Is this the main protein that you’ re serving?”“ How many people are you expecting?” and“ Do you want leftovers or just enough to feed everyone?” A good butcher can help you decipher what cuts of meat are best for what, offer prep and cooking tips, suggest recipes, and more.
Quality Products
Compared to the grocery store, the meat you’ ll get from your local butcher shop is some of the freshest and best meat you’ ll ever have. That’ s due to the fact that their meats are often butchered and prepped daily, or they’ ve been aged properly, both of which enhance their tenderness and flavor. Siliezar said it’ s also because nothing has been done to the meat. There are no saltwater preservatives injected into it, no added steroids or antibiotics, and no carbon dioxide gassing. Saltwater preservatives are injected into meat to help make it last longer. It also gives it an unnatural salty taste. Carbon dioxide gassing is used to help preserve the color of the meat so that it looks fresher for longer periods of time. If you’ ve purchased bulk ground beef from the grocery store before, you’ ll notice that the outside looks nice and bright red, but when you start breaking it up, the inside is a dull gray color. That’ s because the gas can’ t penetrate the meat that deeply. The reason meats at the grocery store have these processes done to them is because the average consumer wants to buy a product that looks good visually.
A butcher will tell you that meat is supposed to have an aroma and different colors. Most store-bought meats don’ t have an odor when you open them, and that’ s from the saltwater preservatives. Butcher shop meat will most definitely have an odor, but that’ s a good thing. Baby back ribs, for example, typically
24 | NW GEORGIA LIVING NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2025