The One-Stop Butcher Shop

There’s a reason why the meat loaf is a best seller at New York Butcher Shoppe. It’s made from their house grind of prime tenderloin, prime rib-eye and New York strip—a far cry from your standard ground chuck or ground sirloin. And it’s ground right near where you’ll find a butcher trimming out a gorgeous prime beef tenderloin, trussing it perfectly to slice into filets.

Working with his ninja-sharp blade, the butcher expertly trim the loin and adds the excess to a bag he will grind later for that meatloaf. We all know how great filet mignon and rib-eyes taste, so imagine a meatloaf made from those same trimmings and you begin to get the idea of how the kind of attention to detail at this Heights Village Shopping Center shop.

Its staff prides itself of their smoked meats, with smoked wings and ribs available each Saturday, smoked prime rib on Fridays, and smoked beef tenderloins, briskets and pork butts whenever customers make the ask.

Owner Jim Moeller is especially proud of the quality of meats he is able to offer customers, “Our beef is Certified Angus, which people know is really some of the best meat around. We sell a lot of Cheshire pork too, which is of a similar caliber to the Angus, but in pork.”

And so when the opportunity arose to open a second location in Greystone, Moeller jumped at the chance, knowing he could exceed customers’ expectations in that part of town as well. Each location offers the same quality cuts of meat and will always offer to season your selection, at no extra cost. There is something to be said for bringing home a few New York strips that are all ready to go once you get the grill fired up. Your only responsibility is not overcook them!

Offering specialty meats is only part of the equation at New York Butcher Shoppe since the experienced staff is crucial to the success of the operation. General Manager Phillip Baio

has more than 25 years in the food-service business, honing his meat-cutting skills while working the wood-grilling station at Arman’s at Park Lane decades ago. When asked what the secret is to making the perfect brisket, he is quick to respond, “Patience. You have to cook it low and slow. You cannot rush something like that.”

Of course, you’d expect to find house-made brats, double-cut pork chops, and hand-tied beef tenderloin at a local butcher shop but this 1,750-square-foot spot offers more too. The cold case is always packed out with plenty of mains and sides made in-house and ready to take to your house. The broccoli slaw will have your pickiest eater demanding seconds while the twice-baked potatoes are generous enough for two to share. A selection of meats and cheeses stand ready for your next charcuterie board while the salads offer some much-needed greens to the diet.

The freezer cases are also teeming with customer favorites: grilled vegetable or jumbo meat-filled raviolis, cannolis and pasta sauces. There are packs of ground wild boar meat, Millie Ray’s Orange Rolls and loads of casseroles to take to the lake, beach or Saturday night potluck. Moeller says the family-sized lasagnas are his biggest seller in the freezer case, and with one look at the ingredients it is not hard to see why. Layers of fresh pasta sandwich in a house-made tomato-meat sauce and savory ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.

New York Butcher Shoppe may be a franchise (the company is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina), but with a local owner like Jim Moeller, extra care is taken to round out the cases with plenty of local goods. Here you will find T. Lish dressings and marinades, Merry Crisps cheese crisps, Alecia’s chutneys and Bronnie’s Brittle.

And don’t get us started on all of the local beers available! Birmingham is blessed to have so many great local brews and you can find most of them here in Cahaba Heights: Good People, Avondale Brewing Company, Monday Night Brewing, Ghost Train and Cahaba Brewing Company can all be found in cans.

Speaking of imbibing, the shop offers a wine-of-the-month program for their customers. For $30 a month, customers receive two bottles of each month’s selection, with tips on enjoying and pairing. They also receive a 10 percent discount on any additional wine purchases. Moeller makes sure everyone on staff has had a chance to try the wines of the month and can speak to their flavor profile. “Wines, like most things,” he says. “(They) should just be enjoyed for how YOU like it, so we encourage our staff to find something they genuinely like so they can recommend it from a place of personal enjoyment instead of selling something at a particular price point.”

Fridays and Saturdays are by far the busiest at the shop. The crew is cranking out handmade sandwiches all day while customers load up the counter with choice grilling selections. Since there’s a seafood shop just next door, Moeller is quick to point out the advantages of this similar retail operation.

“I think it’s great because people can come in and grab a couple of meals from us, then go next door and pick up some fish,” he says. “Or they’ll come here to get sides that go with what they buy next door. We have so many customers – especially on Saturdays – who will go to Sexton’s and then also come here to knock out a couple of meals for the week. They are great neighbors and it gives us more neighborhood pull. And when you throw in Murphree’s Market down the street—you can get all your produce there—it is a great Saturday morning ritual for folks.” And that sounds like the perfect Cahaba Heights tradition in the making, something to be enjoyed by generations of neighbors.

New York Butcher Shoppe is located at 3158 Heights Village. You can reach them at (205) 970-7300.