Business & Tech

Summit's The Meat House Revives The Local Butcher With a Modern Twist

The butcher and grocer will be opening on Springfield Avenue this April.


David Bane and his wife Jennifer love all things hospitality and when it comes to food, they also love steak tips, so when a vacant storefront became available the couple was in search of a business to fill it. As Dave sat online ordering The Meat House steak tips, it hit the couple to franchise The Meat House, a revitalization of the local butcher shop. 

However, The Meat House is more than just a local butcher shop, Jennifer explained, it also features seafood, specialty items, prepared foods, cheeses, desserts and even beer and wine.

“It’s the Williams-Sonoma of butchers meets specialty shop,” Jennifer calls it.

The business is looking at an opening date of April 5 at 321 Springfield Avenue and Jennifer said there is already a buzz about the store coming to Summit.

“You walk around the streets and hear ‘we need this,’” she said. “This is something that we’re missing.”

It all began when the Bane’s were babysitting for friends in New Hampshire and were given The Meat House steak tips. Once returning to Atlantic Highlands, where the couple is from, they would order the steak tips and have them shipped from New Hampshire.

Dave said he loved the ease of the products The Meat House had to offer, such as being able to throw the steak tips on the grill and have them ready to eat in 10 minutes.

Being a commuter for many years made him realize that time is premium and The Meat House would be a really good business in New Jersey.

Summit is the first Meat House location that Dave and Jennifer are opening in New Jersey, but they plan to open 20 stores across the state.

The Meat House really thrives in vibrant communities, Dave said. The company does a lot of grassroots partnerships and is involved in communities that have a lot of community spirit, which is why the couple felt Summit was a great fit.

Being in such a vibrant town ties in one of the most important aspects of The Meat House that Jennifer wanted to stress: customer service.

At The Meat House, they plan to bring back old-school customer service like remembering customer’s names and carrying out their bags to the car.

That’s why the Bane’s brought in front-of-house manager Dan Shabat and Executive Chef Tommy Muff.  Both guys will be dedicated to serving the customers whether it be remembering names or explaining the perfect cut of meat and way to prepare it.

Muff’s focus will be largely on prepared foods, giving solutions to busy Summit families for a quick healthy meal that is more than just relying on a roasted chicken from the supermarket, Dave added.

“It’s a one stop shop,” Muff stated. “It’s everything you need for a meal all in one location.”

For years grocery stores were the dominant force in where people were getting their food, Dave said, but The Meat House will be a place where people can get their meat, poultry, fish and more from people they can trust are serving a quality product.

He added that The Meat House really knows the farmers and suppliers they are getting product from and they make sure to ask a lot of questions.

Additionally, The Meat House is dedicated to serving product as local as possible. They encourage anyone with a product that they think would a good fit to sell at The Meat House to email them at summit.nj@themeathouse.com and plan to bring in some high quality samples.

“That would be the only reason we would not bring it in, if it wasn’t high quality,” Dave added.

The Meat House in Summit is the 34th location, but most of the other locations are in the New England area.

The original Meat House expanded based on customer’s wants and suggestions and that’s what the Summit location plans to do, Dave added. Pointing out that each Meat House is different and geared towards what is a good fit in that particular community.

For more on The Meat House company visit themeathouse.com. For updated information on Summit's The Meat House visit their Facebook page, here.

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