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!

It rained this week and we were really into that. We needed the rain terribly but it was also nice to look at something other than unrelenting, radiating sun pouring in our huge shop windows. If it wasn't for the fact that the animals look so beautiful, we'd really be getting pretty beat down about this heat. We really appreciate all of you keeping us so busy in the summer months. There is something particularly endearing about someone buying a steak in the evening and knowing that they are going to be throwing it on some coals in the next hour. We like that sort of economy.

Ross and Jason are really excited that in a few weeks they will be traveling to Boone to participate in the NC Choices Carolina Meat Conference. The conference was a mainstay of the year prior to the pandemic and we are super happy its back! We will be presenting a class called "This Little Piggy's Going to Market: A Pork Butchery Demo" (we 100% did not come up with that name). Someone clearly thinks we know something about butchery and we are pretty honored to be presenting at an event that draws folks from all over the country. 

Thanks for being super great customers and neighbors, we wouldn't have been here for almost ten years without you keeping us busy four seasons a year. See you soon!

Schnitzel is forever a hit.

We are really set on making sure that we have something to offer for everyone at the shop. Whether you want a celebratory standing rib roast, some ground beef for a burger, skin-on pork shanks to braise or a rabbit to finally try a rabbit and fennel ragu, we have it - all the time. It's definitely grilling season but I haven't been grilling much as it has been so very hot and those long fields of dry grass make me nervous (PSA - keeping an eye on your local fire ban is a great idea). Instead we've been eating a lot of thin cuts cooked quickly in a pan with a simple sauce. This week I had schnitzel with some shaved cabbage, pork larb and some NC black drum over tomato gravy and red tail grains grits. We know how to make an animal smaller but most of us in the shop are also pretty adept at cooking the things we work with every day.

If you have a question or want to try something new, just ask us for a recommendation! We adore talking about our animals and cuts and we relish the opportunity to help someone nail a new dish. And if you don't want to cook at all, we have plenty of charcuterie and at least four kinds of bacon most of the time for an excellent BLT.

Enjoy the long light and early mornings, we really live in a beautiful place. 

An important note about this week - our schedule is a little different. We are going to be open on Tuesday, July 2nd and will be closed on Thursday, the 4th. We should be breaking cows and pigs to keep the case full on Tuesday so if you want something special before the holiday, you would be well advised to put in an order to assure we have it ready to go.

Also, with a helpful visual provided just above, we really think more folks should be doing a "mixed grill". It's how we at the shop usually cook in the summer if we are feeding a group. The idea being, grab a handful of cuts that call your name from the case and grill them all up for your guests. It's really lovely to have a number of cuts all sliced up on a plate so that you can see what different flavors, textures and specific cuts appeal to you. Its also nice not to worry with trying to cook a bunch of ribeyes to everyones preferred temp.

So, we hope we see you this week and you have the chance to lounge and eat well with friends and family. We plan to do so after a busy start. 

What it usually looks like when a butcher grills out. 

We're going to be brief this time around as we coast into Father's Day and a break from a very busy week. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback, support and kudos for our Butcher Club Memberships. This week we got to see about half of you and if you would like to be one of those folks next month, put your name on the waiting list at the link below.

We've got an exciting sausage next week, the pickled shiitake. It's something we came up with a couple months ago and we are excited to share it with you. Let us know if there is anything we've forgotten about that you would like to see.

Alright, some of us are Fathers and we're going to go do father stuff. Hope you have a great Sunday and an ecstatically pleasant week!

Sold out, sold out, sold out!

Thanks for a great Saturdays in Sax and for supporting Rodrigo’s debut burrito booth! Plus Roci’s famous salsa! He’ll be at Saturdays in Sax every other Saturday, alternating with Jason & Morgan with butcher shop sandwiches.

After a beautiful 70 degree night with no humidity for this week’s Saturdays in Sax, the weather turned warm, and we have been feeling it. Steaks and chops for the grill have been going fast, and we are all leaning into the warmer season. You can see it in the meat, too! The fat is redolent of lush grass and the whole animal is just richer and more interesting. 

Next Sunday is Father's Day, and we are bringing in plenty of product to fulfill whatever your dad, father figure, male human in your life may want. It's always a good idea, especially on busy weeks, to get your requests in early. If you were thinking of getting a couple of ribeyes or pork chops, maybe you want to try one big cut to split between a few people. A ribeye for two can be a great experience.

As a reminder, we will have sandwiches in the shop every Saturday, even if we are not selling at Saturdays in Sax. If you were ever to need a handful for a weekend lunch, give us a call, and we can hold some for you. Lot's of great things happening at the shop, so come on in and ask us what we would eat!

I was recently arguing with someone dear to me that it definitely does not stay light out until 9 p.m. in the summer. Last night, as we were enjoying a meal outside and the sun was definitely still throwing plenty of light at 8:30 with the summer solstice still a few weeks away, I realized that I may be losing that argument definitively in just a few weeks. In the winter, we work long days at the shop and walk out into the cold evening but once summer rolls around, it's such a pleasure to flip the sign and still have plenty of time to gather with friends, go swimming, cut the grass and various other summer activities. It also means that meals don't need to be slow simmered all day. Grabbing something that needs to be cooked quick and rolling out for the night is one of our favorite things about summer.

Next week for Saturdays In Sax will mark the first week of a pretty special collaboration that we are doing with our former employee and friend Rodrigo. Rodrigo will be making burritos at the shop and selling them across the street at Saturdays in Saxapahaw every other week throughout the summer. These aren't gigantic mission-style burritos loaded with rice and beans, but rather a classic burrito on a homemade flour tortilla filled with fresh ingredients. We will still be offering sandwiches through the shop on Saturdays if that’s more your speed.

Our freezers are stocked with quick meals for the summer, and we rolled out four sausages this week if you need to stock up for summer grilling. We enjoy seeing all of you week to week and hope your summer is off to a grand start.

The past two weeks have been unusually busy here at the shop. With two weeks worth of membership box pickups and Memorial Day coming this Monday, we brought in 8 pigs and 4 cows over the past 14 days, and we are spent. It would be more arduous if we didn't have the pleasure of getting animals—especially this time of year—that put a smile on our face every week. We hope when you come by the shop, you can see that we take a lot of pride in the work we do and farms we choose to partner with.

Although it was overwhelming on the production end at the shop this week, we still managed to squeeze in a going-away gathering for Stefan. We gathered at Cane Creek for a taco dinner. We were busy, so we threw together something like chorizo and marinated a bunch of thinly sliced pork collar in a mojo rub and called it good. Nachos, cheap beer, bocce ball. Jason even came off on one of the 12-packs of La Croix he keeps stocked in his trunk at all times. It was a really nice time and nobody went to jail.

Everyone is taking Monday off from production to relax and spend time with family, but we will be back at it Tuesday with animals coming in the door and lots to be done. If you have a weird request, let us know—we can probably do it!

Sometimes when you get an idea in your head, you're going to see it through and there's no amount of reasonable and loving input that’s going to change your mind. That's how I have often found myself grilling under an umbrella and shouting back to friends, family, guest, whoever "it's all good, I think it's letting up!". It's usually not letting up, often it’s getting heavier but once you have the grill lit, you just kind of have to go for it. With the abundance of rain this week, maybe some of you can relate to this experience. Most of you probably can't because you live a life of prudent and reasoned planning.

All that said, whether the skies are going to agree and the grill seems a good idea or it’s more of a day to pop something in a low oven, we have it all. It's a great time enjoy the waning cool days and enjoy a ragu or rich braise. If that's not feeling right, we always have quick options or some excellent NC fish from Local's Seafood. We love when folks come in without any idea of what they want to cook.

Memorial Day weekend is coming up, so be sure to reserve something great for your grill. And we hope to see you all regularly, we have some new staff and lots of creative things going on. Come and see!

This season has seemed to bring in an abundance of all good things and we are happy to be a part of that. The pigs continue to be beautiful week after week, the cows are grazing endlessly on spring grasses providing rich, deeply yellowed fat and Little Way Farm will be bringing us the first run of fresh chickens this week. There is even an abundance of rather agreeable swarms of long-sleeping bugs that have laid a sonic wave of chirping over the whole village. Every Friday Full Plate Farm and Bountiful Backyards drops off CSA shares at the shop and we get to see the contrast of things grown alongside animals reared. We feel lucky the shop has big windows so we can take it all in.

Little Way Farm raises chickens six months out of the year and provides the shop with all of our small batch, heritage chicken. The first run will be arriving this weekend, so the freezers will be restocked with half chickens, leg quarters, skin on breasts and hopefully some other cuts we are thinking through.

We also encourage you to try some different cuts of beef, as you can really taste the season right now. It seems odd and maybe its just because we eat it daily but you can really taste when the cows are gorging on first cut, sweet spring grasses.

Unfortunately, the initial Saturdays in Sax was cancelled this week due to rain. The plan is to combine everything next weekend for a big afternoon in support of the Haw River Assembly. We will have sandwiches per usual and hope you will bring a cooler and stock up while you are this way. 

What a flat iron looks like long before you buy it.

It’s wild to think it’s almost May. May marks a real transition in Saxapahaw as Saturdays in Sax starts next weekend and we move into the summer season. Just like last year, Left Bank will be at Saturdays in Sax with delicious sandwiches and we will also have sandwiches available at the shop prior to events kicking off on the hill.

We wrapped up our first full cycle of membership boxes and sent lots of happy customers out the door with plenty of goodness to cook over the coming weeks. Also, if you were on the waiting list, you should see that you are now on the “gettin’ list”. We will have boxes ready for all of you starting in May. Thanks again for the hearty support.

Get your orders in for all the things in your life. We’re moving into tri tip, picanha and Boston Butt season. (If you are curious about those cuts, you can read up on them here!) Make sure you get what you need by letting us know early. Enjoy the beautiful weather and each other!

Fresh chickens will begin arriving from Little Way Farm in just a few weeks!

It's raining this morning for the first time in a long while, and it feels like a fitting wind down to a very busy week. We had the first run of our new Butcher Membership boxes rolling out of the shop, and we were so pleased with the ease on our end and reception from the many customers who came to pick up. There were some really special offerings from a wild ramp sausage made possible by our resident forager, Adam, to a classic old-style French chicken liver mousse (I'm still recovering from all the "tasting" that was required in making it).

If you are hoping to get in on the next run of boxes, you should get your name on the waiting list. We are working out the logistics of scaling this and will very likely be opening up more spaces soon. We think it's just about the coolest thing you could do!

Last night, we capped the week with a square dance and hotdogs at Cane Creek Farm. It really does mean a lot to us that so many of you show up. It's a good time, so we don't exactly have to twist your arm but it really does drive home the fact that we are a community butcher shop. Someone last night told me that it reminded him so much of the village butcheries he went to as a child in rural England. I sort of swooned over that one.

Have a most excellent week! There's probably more news but we’ll think of it all and let you know as our brains begin to land. Thanks for being customers, friends and neighbors—we have the best job there is.

Number one local bass slapper, wedding maestro and big grill owner - Miles

We wanted to keep you up-to-date on some changes at Cane Creek Farm and at Left Bank. As y’all know, for the past 10 years, Cane Creek has raised the pork that you’ve gotten at our shop. Moving forward our production model will change and Cane Creek will send their pigs to Randleman Farm to be finished to market weight. Before we get into the how and why of the changes (and in case you don’t want to read till the end ;), know this: the genetics, quality, and ethics behind our pork will not change!

Here’s How It Will Work: Eliza (of Cane Creek Farm) will continue breeding pigs and raising them until they are “feeder” pig size (75-100lb). The pigs will then head up to Randleman Farm in northern Alamance County to be finished. Chad and Stephanie will raise these pigs on pasture and feed them a diet of wheat, toasted soybean meal, and corn. (They make this feed every day on the farm, and raise the wheat and corn!).  

Why are we doing this?

1. While you may see inflation in your day-to-day shopping, one cost increase you probably haven’t seen is in the cost of pig feed- it’s gone through the roof since the pandemic and has never come down. Our pork prices to you haven’t changed, but the insane price increase has meant that any chance for pork to be profitable has disappeared for both Cane Creek Farm and for Left Bank. 

This cost is partially offset at Randleman Farm because Chad grows the wheat and corn on his farm, and mills the feed everyday. We love this old-school model and the consistency in quality and cost that it allows for our pigs. 

2.  About 50% of the pork sold at Left Bank used to be sold at the Carrboro Farmers Market. When we were no longer able to go there, this obviously hurt both the shop, but even more, Cane Creek Farm. Instead of buying 4-5 pigs per week, we moved down to 2-3 pigs per week. This was not the business plan that Cane Creek had drawn up, and the lack-of-volume also hurt when it came to transporting the pigs to the slaughterhouse- Eliza was driving to the processor, just as far, just as often, for half the number of animals. Now, Randleman Farm can take Cane Creek pigs and their own pigs (which are much leaner) to the slaughterhouse at the same time. 

What does it mean for you?

We’ve tried this system out and we’re thrilled with the results. Randleman Farm has taken in a few very large Cane Creek hogs for us and the marbling and quality have been stellar. We really believe that the quality and consistency will be even better with this partnership.

This system gives us even more control over the pork we have in the shop- the genetics are the same, the feed is being grown at Randleman Farm (instead of coming from a feed company), the finished weights will be more dialed-in, and the efficiencies of our new system will keep us from needing to raise our prices. Wins all around!

We’re happy to answer any questions. Thank you for your continued support. We’ll see you at the shop!

Not much of a newsletter this week, just a quick hello and a reminder to get your orders in if you would like. Week after week, we’re amazed at the number of orders that come in through the shop, and it will always be the best way to ensure you get exactly what you want.

We have two new employees, Adam and Jess, so if you see a new face, introduce yourself! We are super happy to have them on board - they are picking up this crazy job with inspiring quickness. We value an excellent team and a great work environment so much and we love it when new folks jump right in.

Hope to see you all around the village this week!

Meet the newest members of the Left Bank team: Adam & Jess

We’ve got a new staff member!

Since spring is well and truly here, we decided to just lean into the change and try some new things. We have a new staff member, Adam, who moved down to join us and learn the trade. Adam brings a breadth of knowledge regarding farming and foraging that we are excited to learn more about. We found a heavy week for him to start with Easter orders rolling in, but it usually seems best to let folks see the shop really wound up to get started. Speaking of Easter, we have had a very busy week and hopefully everyone that needed a ham found one.

You sold us out in 48 hours!

Our Butcher Club Memberships went as well as we could have possibly imagined. It was legitimately humbling to see your support as we sold out in 48 hours! That being said, we are going to be opening up more slots in the next month or two and those will be filled off of the growing waiting list. If you would like to join, please do follow the link and join the waiting list, so we can get you on board as soon as we open new spaces.

Closed Easter

We are pretty well open five days a week, 52 weeks a year but we will be closed Easter Sunday to relax a bit. Everyone will be back in the shop Tuesday cranking away on all the things and making sure the case is ready to go on Wednesday. 

Earth Day Party April 20

And don't sleep on our Earth Day party at Cane Creek Farm on April 20. Big Fat Gap will be bringing the gas to help you dance off the hotdogs you eat. Events will kick off at 6 p.m., so bring whatever you may like to drink and we will have the food covered. See you then!

As always, get your orders in using our online order form.

Actually its March"ham". But, we have lots of ham available for Easter next weekend and hope you will put in an order if you would like one. That being said, it hasn't been mayhem, but it has been a very busy week at the shop. We brought in lots of animals, including three gorgeous lamb from our friend Joe at Back Creek Ranch in Mt. Ula, NC. Much of that has been spoken for but if you would like something, we will have some cuts in the case, and you are welcome to call the shop to see what may be available.

We hope you checked your email and saw the introduction of our butchery membership club. For a long while, we have dreamed of being able to put together really well curated boxes that our customers could pick up on a recurring monthly basis. Obviously we are in the business of selling meat and doing so is good for the shop, however, the reasons that this makes sense for us are a bit more nuanced. Forecasting our needs as a shop when we are dependent on bringing in whole animals is a bear of a task. We are completely precluded from things like "ordering" another case of ribeyes or selling cheap spare ribs because they are on sale that week. If we want one extra four lb filet mignon, our model necessitates that we bring in a 400 lb side of beef to do so. Being able to forecast our needs with some certainty is truly so helpful in both workflow and orders but also in our ability to be more creative.

Secondly, coming up on 10 years in business, we think you know us pretty well. We have many customers, and we also have very real relationships with many of them. The membership program allows you to do something we hope is appealing—put your faith in your butcher and know that you are going to be taken care of. Thats where the honor and privilege of this whole thing comes in. We get to do what we love with the same craftsmanship as before and be assured that every cut is making it to someone’s plate.

If you would like something special for Easter, please put in an order to assure we have what you need. Lastly, we will be closed on Easter Sunday, so plan to come see us by Saturday at six to fill your fridge. Thanks for your support as we close in our 10th year, and thanks for giving us the confidence to try something new!

And, as always, visit the weekly order form and get your order in.

We’ve got a proposition that we’re excited to share with you...

Introducing: Left Bank Butcher's Boxes

We want to be able to support your mealtime needs, and we also know that you want to support our little, local shop and the excellent farms we work with. This is a monthly membership, with limited availability, so that we can keep it personal.

Each month, members receive a rotating selection of high quality, hand-cut meats, curated with care by your lovely Left Bank butchers. Your boxes will include selections of our favorite cuts, specialty items from our kitchen, members-only items, & butcher’s notes. Memberships also includes exclusive perks ;) 

We’re gonna make boxes that we feel proud of, which means you’ll head home with fantastic products. This work is an honor for us to do. Thank you for supporting our ability to do it. 

— Ross, Jason, and the Left Bank Team

Some things are always changing, and some things just stay the same. We have staff that spend time with us and move on, farmers markets and events that happen on occasion, one-off projects that we forget were super delicious but the thing that remains the same is our high quality meat and wonderful butchering. We hope that on your regular trip out here you find that some things have changed but the core of what we do remains.

As we come up with new sausages, ready-to-eat meals or interesting cuts for the case, we hope that you see that we have a love for what we do. We always appreciate your feedback on what works and what doesn't—it helps keep us honest. In the vein of creativity and the desire to make this little shop in rural Alamance County work for us and our many customers, look out for some really exciting news that should hit your inbox within the next week. We have been working on something that we are very excited about!

Reminder to mark your calendars for hotdogs and a barn dance at Cane Creek Farm on Earth Day, April 20. We will be taking Easter orders soon and should have everything you need from lamb to ham. We are all very excited to see lamb return to the shop after we sold everything the farms had for the holidays.

Enjoy the beauty of spring. We're leaning in. And, as always, visit the weekly order form and get your order in.