No more homework, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks - Mr. Alice Cooper

It was a great week at the shop cutting for Memorial Day. If you came in, you may have noticed that the animals were particularly nice. While the animals are nearly always immaculate, we so appreciate when the farms hold back something special for holidays. We hope your plans are coming together for some rest on Monday and time with friends!

We also were super excited to see two of our employees graduate from Hawbridge this week! John and Conlan finally finished the long slog and got to walk across the stage on Thursday night, and we sort of felt like proud parents. We considered the shop their home-economics class, and we think we really excelled at showing them the ins and outs of washing dishes. They also both know how to nail a perfect steak. John also turned 18 on Wednesday, officially ending my long-standing offer to adopt him if he was ever up to it. He kept reassuring me he already had really great parents, but the offer always stood. Guess you can only do so much. We're really proud of you guys, and are glad you'll be around for the summer!

Have a lovely week!

I've been around Saxapahaw for well over a decade and at the shop for seven years, and most every day, at some point, I realize that this is a really special place. A lot of times that comes as a sort of vicarious elation. When a friend of the shop brings in friends or family from abroad and beams that THIS is where they get their meat. Or when a customer drops by to pick up their monthly butcher box and tells us that the 45-minute drive through the country to pick up meat is the best part of their month. If you get this newsletter, you may be able to empathize with these sorts of small joys.

What we do feels special, and I hope that comes through when you visit. Ten years on and we are actually doing what we set out for—buying the best animals we can possibly find from a handful of small local farms. That sage in the breakfast sausage you cooked this morning was grown by one of our butchers. The oregano in the chimichurri was picked a few steps away in the community garden. This place feels most special when it seems like we've really threaded that needle of taking care of our staff, our customers, our farmers and our community.

We have a butchery class this Thursday night if you are interested in learning more about the pig. This really doesn't necessitate a desire to butcher a pig but it's a great way to learn about the animal and become a better cook in the process. If you need things for Memorial Day, we'd strongly suggest putting in an order. It will be hopping this week. Also, even if you aren't going to Saturday's in Sax, we have sandwiches on Saturday's starting early afternoon. Grab a few at the shop to take home if you need something easy. Lean into the longer days, light a grill, call some people you know, cook some meat, come tell us about it.

Happy Mothers Day from all of us at Left Bank! We all got moms, and we hope they have an excellent day and are well taken care of. Especially Roci, our shop mom who deserves all the love we've got. Sometimes we're pretty sure she's trying to fatten us for an eventual trip to the oven, but we think she actually just loves to cook and shows her love by feeding us. And a super happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Amanda. I'm a placid, affable and wholly decent person these days, but there were some interminably weary years in there, and she has always been with me. I love her like no other and try to show some measure of gratitude by keeping her freezer stocked up. I love you, momma.

Butcher box pickups start this week for all of you who are members. We would also really encourage you to come out for Saturdays in Sax (park at the high school for the easiest experience). The sandwiches are great and next week Tre Charles is playing - I will definitely be there. To all of our great relief, Kevin is back this week, too! He took most of the week off to get his garden in, which is unusually wholesome and made all of us feel like being more self-sufficient. 

The order form is up to date and we look forward to cutting something nice for you. Have a great week, come rain or shine. It's a real beautiful world.

We also have a lamb this week and lots of local chicken!

We began this shop as a loose partnership with Braeburn Farm and Cane Creek Farm. I'd worked on both farms for years and always dreamed of working with a whole-animal butcher shop. So when we decided to launch the shop, despite not always knowing what we were doing, we did know that we had the best farms to work with. 

The butcher shop is now in its second decade on earth, and I guess that means that things will eventually have to change. Charles Sydnor started Braeburn Farm back in 1974 and as happens, he's finally retiring from working with cows everyday. He's selling the farm to a neighbor who no longer wants to finish cows. 

So we're sad. I have so many great memories of Braeburn Farm (I worked there, I lived there, I got married there, etc). Charles has been such an inspiration to many of us in this community—showing what role an ecologically-driven, community-focused farm can play in a local food system. We will miss that in our Saxapahaw community. 

As many of you know, we began working with Randleman Farm two years ago, in addition to Braeburn. This beef has been incredible in the shop and when Braeburn finally runs out of cows (in the next month or two), we will be sourcing all of our cows from Randleman. We have lots to share about the exciting things happening on Randleman Farm, which we'll save for another newsletter. (But the short of it is that we have incredible beef coming from an incredible farm, so you/we are in good hands!). Today we just want to acknowledge that things change and to say thank you to Braeburn Farm for feeding this community such wonderful meat for the past few decades.

On that heavy note, we'll also say: come visit us this week! Thanks y'all!

—Ross

I was telling someone the other day that I don't even think about something being a holiday at the shop unless it's Thanksgiving or Christmas. If we aren't bringing in triple the number of animals, we just sort of assume a normal week. I should probably do a little more mental prep next year before Easter because you folks graciously wiped us out. We brought in an abundance of product and you seemed to have a keen interest in all of it. Thanks! 

We are plowing ahead with our Butcher Box membership program. If you have been on the fence about checking it out, feel free to give it a shot for a month. You'll get some exclusive cuts, one-off items that we are doing and the opportunity to see us more regularly! Seriously, we have been super pleased with the last year of boxes and the feedback has been great. If it's something that doesn't work or you just have a full freezer, you can always pause or cancel your subscription.

We're finalizing our plans for the summer menu at Saturday's in Saxapahaw and will tell you all about that next week. It's going to be themed! And not themed like we're going to have multicolored meats or be wearing costumes, themed in a sophisticated and eloquent way (as sophisticated as Alamance county zoning ordinances allow). Thanks for keeping us hopping!

Weekly Order Form

Once the evenings get long, the light sticks around offering a little extra time and the trees and rivers become verdant and green, we start getting excited for all the summer season holds. It seems that everyone in Saxapahaw feels that way because the events and fun start piling up. Whether it's a community garden fundraiser, a barn dance or a visit to town for Saturday's In Sax, there is a distinct feeling to this little place in the summer. We're 30 minutes from Chapel Hill and a bit longer from Durham but it can feel like you've just hopped off a plane for some well-earned vacation. All of us at the shop like it so much that we just decided to stay.

Saturday's In Saxapahaw kicks off on May 3rd with the Haw River Festival. There will be bands, information on preserving and protecting our big, beautiful river and plenty of food. There are also puppets. Running 18 weeks, this annual tradition is about the most fun you can have for zero dollars. If you don't spend much time in Saxapahaw, this is a great opportunity to bring a lawn chair, grab some food and drink and hear excellent music. Left Bank will be there every week with a new summer sandwich menu. We're pretty excited about it.

If you need to move your hips a little earlier, Eliza at Cane Creek Farm will be hosting a barn dance on April 19th. Many of you have been to a square dance at Eliza's and know it's a quintessential experience of rural fun. Our dear friend and finest customer, Miles, will be bringing his band Big Fat Gap to keep the time and Roci will be there offering all sorts of excellent homemade food. Come to eat, dance, socialize, gawk, whatever.

Finally, with Easter coming up next weekend, we will be bringing in two lamb and have plenty of hams available. If you would like something particular, please put in an order in advance since things will move quickly. We also appreciate the ability to cut exactly what you want and hand it off when you arrive. The order form has so many excellent things, spend some time and see what looks interesting. Look forward to seeing you all soon!

Weekly Order Form

We're pretty grateful for this slow-rolling, beautiful spring we're having before the heat of summer sets in. A lot of us at the shop have spent much of our work life in jobs outside. Working indoors can leave us a bit starved for long warm days outside. Fortunately for us, we have massive original mill windows that let all the long light in. When you come in the shop, we hope you can feel all of that light and find this about as pretty a butcher shop as you could hope for.

If you are feeling like stocking up a bit with whatever the world may be bringing, we have a new box offering on the order form that could probably fit perfectly in your freezer. We are only a few weeks away from the kickoff of Saturday's in Sax the first weekend of May. We will be offering a new menu this year that should have something for everyone. We will also be at Mayfest at Thistledown Farm on Saturday, April 26th. This is a great event to come out and see local vendors, have some food and listen to music. There are lots of great shows at the Haw River Ballroom coming up as well, so bring a cooler then go see a show! 

Weekly Order Form

It's not as if we are cranking hot plates off the line until 10 p.m. but still, it feels a little draining when we flip the sign at six and walk out into a cold dark evening. Even having a half hour of light at the end of a long day buoys the spirit. Even better, this time of year means the days are just getting longer and longer. I'm personally eating lots of steak to get into my summer body. Some sausage here and there for balance.

Maybe this week you'd like to try something new on the grill. We have a lamb, so maybe a shoulder steak or blade chop. Have you ever cooked a merlot steak - they pair well with a simply dressed green salad. If you are reading this, you have almost certainly had a pork chop from the shop, but have you ever had a porchetta chop? You should let us prep one for you.

We hope you're welcoming the spring-like weather with some time in the sun. Even in North Carolina, the winter can kind of jump in your bones. Let's all enjoy the changing season. Take care of yourselves!

Haw River Producers CSA

Weekly Order Form

If you need some pork trotters and tails to make a classic Japanese tonkatsu ramen broth, we would be the shop for you! This week one of our customers needed just that, and we were happy to help. As an added bonus, Annie dropped some off for us after it was done, and it was absolutely fantastic. With some soft-boiled soy eggs and braised pork belly, we were satiated into a Tuesday night coma. If you have any requests for things outside the norm, let us know and we will do our best to make it happen.

We will have an Ossabaw hog from Cane Creek Farm again this week. If you love it or have always wanted to try it, this is your chance. Dark, rich meat and fat that liquefies into the perfect cooking medium; they are such a treat.

Once again, if you have thought about joining a CSA and haven't found one that works, we would encourage you to check out the Haw River Producers CSA which offers pick-up at our shop. Some of us in the shop are members, and between the whole working-in-a-butcher-shop thing and having veggies delivered, we eat pretty well.

Have a fantastic week!

Weekly Order Form

I've lived in NC for 40 years. Through the expectancy of a school snow day, the hope that I don't have to go into the office and now the fear that the power goes down, and we have to crank the generators to keep the walk-in and freezers running, I've learned to never count on snow until it's on the ground. With that said, the stars appear to be aligning for some snow this week. I love a good snow, and it helps that Saxapahaw looks magical with some fresh powder on the ground. It's also pretty convenient that I live close enough to use the shop as my personal refrigerator. However, if you don't live within walking distance or possess a key to the shop, we will be here to help you out. 

We are waiting on the forecast to see what's actually lining up but if it looks like Wednesday is going to be snowed out, we will likely open on Tuesday to help you prepare. We will be here on Tuesday either way if you are feeling like you need some supplies. While we don't officially open on Tuesdays, we are always running production if you need some frozen goods or fresh cuts we may have. We will make an announcement via social media if our hours change.

Also, if you have considered signing up for a CSA, we will be a drop-off point for the Haw River Producers CSA again starting this spring. With more quantity and payment options this spring, the farms have made it easier than ever to participate. I have been a member for every CSA season thus far, and I can say that it is the BEST CSA I have ever been involved with. Beautiful and bountiful vegetables and an excellent value. It also feels great to keep your money in your own community. Click here for details and sign up.

Stay safe, warm and well fed.

Weekly Order Form

Writing a newsletter is easy. Coming up with a title for said newsletter, not so much. If they would hire me the marketing team I've asked for, you could really expect some hard hitting email subject lines. It seems the trend is just to buy more meat, so let's all watch the steady declination of subject line creativity and remember why we're really here.

We have enjoyed having a little slower pace this week and have gotten caught up on some long-planned projects. We've been thinking through the possibility of some different sandwiches this coming spring and are trying to figure out how to make that work for everyone. The butcher club continues to be a tremendous hit and we are always happy to to see those of you who have been around for a while and the new members each month. If you have been interested in joining, here’s the link for more info.

Hope to see you in town this week and that all is well wherever you may be!

Weekly Order Form

As a small business, we know how important it is that our customers spread the word about Left Bank. Over the last 10 years, our reputation has grown based largely on all of you telling others about the experience you have when you come to see us. In that vein, it's always a a pleasure to tell you about other small businesses we love…

Last night, I was asked by my friends at Lubbers and Sons Tree Care to come over and cook some meat for their employee party. I first met Tommy and Sosha when we needed some trees felled (namely some dead pines and beetle-infested ash). They like meat, and I had tree questions, and so a really lovely relationship was born! Fortunately for all of us, this week we had beautiful ribeyes, strips and pork chops, and we cooked a feast. It wasn't catering, it was just cooking for friends. All that said, if you find yourself in need of some tree work, I couldn't recommend Lubbers and Sons more highly.

After thinking about ham and bean soup for a couple of months, this week we made ham and bean soup. It's delicious, come get a quart. Hot dogs have also made their return! Enjoy your week and some warmth.

Weekly Order Form

Good afternoon! Just a very quick hello and reminder to get in your orders for the week ahead. The bitter cold has everyone cooking slow and our case has shown it. Chuck roast, shanks and picnic shoulders have been in short supply. We will also be getting an Ossabaw hog this week if you have been waiting for some fat chops. Whatever you are cooking this week, as long as it's meat, we've got you covered. Thanks for making it out here to us and keeping us busy!

Weekly Order Form

It's been a busy week here in Saxapahaw. School is back in after the winter break, so mornings and afternoons are wild. It's always a lot of fun to see kids reactions when we are hauling in whole pigs and beef. Some part of me thinks that seeing that will forever give kids the correct impression of what a butcher shop should be. Some of the kids are aghast but there are always those who want to follow us in and see what its all about. Maybe we should start handing out applications.

This week saw two sold out shows in the village. I always imagine it's a real trip when a band who has been playing big cities pulls into this little rural anomaly. I hope it’s refreshing. Did you know that we nearly always provide some charcuterie for the bands? If you see a show at the ballroom, there's a good chance that guitar solo was powered by hoards of salami and kielbasa (which is admittedly a weird way to think). In the past, January has been a very slow time of year for us. That's not really the case anymore and we have been so fortunate to have customers who make the trip for good meat 12 months out of the year.

We are batting around some ideas for new products and some exciting possibilities. The shop is humming with tons of animals, great staff and a generally excellent vibe. Come, share the vibe, buy the meats, don't get left out.

Weekly Order Form

I live in really small house. Not like a tiny house because I am an enormous person, but a small house. With a couple of kids, lots to do and no real desire at the end of a week to cook anything elaborate, I revel when winter arrives, and I can just slip something in the oven for the day. It feels really natural to have some meat slowly melting away while the oven warms your home. With a small house, an oven working away will heat things enough to nearly run you out. I've 100% eaten braised beef shanks in January in a tank top.

Well that was folksy. I'm writing this on Thursday, so maybe when you get this it's snowed. If so, we hope it was beautiful and brought some slowness. If it didn't, it will maybe snow again at some point - maybe. Thanks for all the orders this week preparing for whatever the weather ended up like!  

Weekly Order Form

2025 marks our tenth year in business, and we're feeling good about things! We had a very busy year last year and met lots of new customers finding us for the first time. We also got to see so many of you who have been with us since the beginning. In 2025, we have nothing but big dreams for the shop. More beautiful animals, more creative things in the case and more cultivating a really nice place to work. 

The butcher boxes have helped keep us creative and maybe some of those special items we have included will make it into our normal rotation (i.e. chili Verde and tamales). If there are things you have always hoped we'd make but we haven't taken the hint, just let us know. We are always pleased to find new things!

Honestly though, we hope this year brings you great happiness, success and many great meals. Good health to you and your family and the continued joy of getting to congress with you at the shop. See you around town here soon.

Weekly Order Form

We are rearranging our walk-in to prepare for the hundreds of turkeys that will arrive in about a week. If you have an order, we will have you all ready to go. In addition, we are bringing in plenty of pork and beef to be well stocked for whatever you may need in the days before and after (or on Thanksgiving if Turkey isn't your thing).

As someone who is always tasked with bringing a charcuterie board, I know the necessity of some pre-dinner vittles. We will have plenty of options to keep the hoards at bay while the the turkey is finishing up. Country Pate, braunschweiger, plus some ham and salami can really quell the appetite when everyone arrives. Also plenty of stock and seasoning meats are available to turn that bird into a resplendent post-celebration soup.

Of note: for anything that isn't turkey related, please put in an order through our standard weekly order form to coincide with your pick-up day. That form will have all of the standard butcher shop fare that you may need.

If you want to assure that we have what you need for your gathering, please put in an order. It really helps assure that we get everyone taken care of with exactly what they would like. The order form has dates all the way through our holiday closing on Wednesday, November 27th at 3 p.m. We will see you soon!

Weekly Order Form

Charcuterie plate for an event at the Haw River Ballroom.

The holidays always sneak up on us, even though we started planning for Thanksgiving in August. Such is the case when you bring in whole animals and farmers have to get things rolling long before we need anything. We ordered as many turkeys as we ever have and they have moved quite quickly. We have a few left, along with turkey pot pies and possibly a few hams. If you need any of those things, we would strongly encourage you to make an order this week. Unlike most things, when they are sold out, they are gone.

As for Thanksgiving, we will be open through Wednesday, November 27th at 3 p.m. and then we will close Thursday and Friday. If you are planning to have family in town, we will have plenty of pork and beef available to sooth the poultry overload in the days after the feast. You could also order a boatload of charcuterie to put together a nice spread for your holiday grazing. Since it tends to be kind of crazy around here leading up to the holidays, I always get off the hook on cooking a turkey and just bring charcuterie and everyone likes me best.

Happy Veterans Day! Hope you get to enjoy tomorrow off work and take some time to rest. As a totally unnecessary aside, it's my sisters birthday and at 39 years old, I'm still sour she always got her birthday off from school. All the same, Happy Birthday Sarah!

Be well and enjoy the week ahead! 

— Jason

Thanksgiving Order Form & Weekly Order Form.

Over the years, we have seen plenty of folks come and go at the shop. Sometimes folks decide to go work at a shop in a big city, others take the notion that they should follow a woman across the country and on a rare occasion, someone just decides butchery isn't for them (we really don't understand this one). That being said, the shop occasionally hits a long run in which everyone sorts their place and things just hum. That's where we are right now. We have such an incredible crew of folks making this shop work and we are grateful they choose to spend their days here doing the lord's work.

Last week, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings came through town and played three nights at the Haw River Ballroom. The whole staff went and listened to some slow, sad tunes in a decidedly fast, happy way. Kevin was even repeatedly asked to stop talking! I just imagine he was talking about whole animal butchery and how nice it is when you hit the atlas bone just right. The point of this being, we really just want to like the folks we work with and we are lucky as hell to have that right now.

All of this was not a plug to convince you that this is a great place to work but as I write this, it's becoming just that. We are hiring a full time employee to help with kitchen projects, assist customers and learn the basics of butchery. If you or someone you know is interested in something like that, give us a call or shoot an email our way. We are happy to train someone who has basic knowledge, we just need you to be a generally affable individual with the desire to work and learn.

Lot's of great things coming up in Saxapahaw as the holiday's approach, so keep an eye out for news from the shop and our awesome neighbors. Take care of yourselves!

As always, here's the weekly order form, plus the super-special Thanksgiving Order Form.

Cheerio, and we’ll see you for our 10th Anniversary Brunch Party THIS SUNDAY! Please RSVP here if you intend to join us.

Hey All!

We had a heck of a week, half the staff taking a beach vacation and the other half going to the Carolina Meat Conference (yep, real thing) in the mountains. And we managed to keep the shop open as well. It's just too tough to close this place—bacons need pulled from cure, 3-day projects like making hot dogs still need to happen, and y'all need fresh meat each week!

So we survived the week but alas, no poetry in this week's newsletter. We'll fill you in on that conference next week, but in the meantime, here's the order form. Hope to see y’all this week!