Prime cuts: Return of the old school urban butcher shop

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Alison Council, owner of Queen City Meats & Butcher Shop, assumed the mantle of Westside Meats, a Black-owned shop that closed in 2022 after 57 years in Historic West End.

Alison Council brought the old-fashioned butcher shop back to Charlotte’s urban core.

Council, owner of Queen City Meats & Butcher Shop, is carrying on the legacy of Westside Meats, the only Black-owned butcher shop in Charlotte for 57 years. When Westside Meats owner Rose Coleman closed the West Trade Street shop in 2022, Council stepped in with her startup at 4429 Brookshire Blvd. in July.

“[Coleman] was a family friend of ours,” Council said. “I’ve known her my entire life. She stayed down the street from my grandmother. She helped me, 100%, get this up and running and helped teach me what I needed to know to open the store.”

When Westside Meats closed, Council saw an opportunity to re-establish an inner-city food source that addresses food insecurity. In 2023, 11.7% of people living in Charlotte were at or below the federal poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Council wanted to make sure readily available and affordable food was in the community.

“Our mission is pretty much the same as Westside’s was,” she said. “So, my thing was, if we lose this, it’s another hit on this industry but more importantly, it would be another hit on the community.”

The shop – which sells beef, pork, poultry and even ox, is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Council said she serves 60 to 150 customers a day, and the clientele is growing.

“I want the store to be open Monday through Saturday from 8 in the morning ‘til 5 at night,” Council said. “For now, I want [business] to pick up a little bit more, so we eventually have to open up more.”

Queen City Meats & Butcher Shop is “old school,” according to Council, in that they slaughter the whole animal and butcher at the shop. Council buys from local farmers so there’s no preservatives.

“We’re an old-school butcher shop,” she said. “Everything is sourced in North Carolina to guarantee freshness. You don’t have to worry if you’re eating preservatives. We even do whole animal and freezer packages. We also wholesale to several restaurants that focus on providing the freshest food possible for their diners.”

More people are starting to flow through the shop each week. One thing Council emphasizes is transparency in sourcing and the absence of additives. She assures her customers that everything is fresh.

“We are growing because people are starting to go back to their roots,” she said. “Their roots are, ‘Where is the product coming from?’ With all of the skyrocketing grocery prices, I am also able to sell it to people at wholesale prices.”

On either side of the shop, you’ll find another asset to the business – a multi-station commercial kitchen used by food truck owners to meet their permanent kitchen needs. It isn’t just an extension of Westside Meats’ legacy that dated to the beginning of the end of Jim Crow Charlotte in 1965, but also a foundation for future generations.

Council, who plans to turn the business over to her son when she retires, hopes to expand to a larger facility that will include an open-air market.

In 10 years, Council hopes to have more stores serving locally sourced meats.

“We’re definitely going to be here in Charlotte,” Council said. “There is a lifelong legacy here. Within five to 10 years, I see us having two or three stores. Even though you have stores like Harris Teeter and Compare Foods, the culture is shifting back towards people wanting to go in and select their products. I am allowing folks to get what they want at the best quality and affordable prices.”

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