Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Flynn.
Hi Ross, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I began working for Cane Creek Farm and Braeburn Farm (they used to be one farm) 15 years ago. I both raised pigs and cows and also was involved in selling our meat at markets and to restaurants. We’d always dreamed of supplying our animals to a whole-animal butcher shop. This model makes so much more sense (financially and ethically), and eventually, I decided that I would be the one to start the shop. My partner (Aron Woolman) and I opened the shop in 2014 in Saxapahaw, the community where our animals are raised. What we’re doing is pretty unique, and where we’re doing it is also unusual! In 2019 we partnered up with Josh DeCarolis (co-owner at Mother and Sons restaurant in Durham) to open Alimentari at Left Bank in the Transfer Food Hall in Raleigh. The Alimentari has the same meat as at the butcher shop, but they also make pastas, sandwiches, and more ready-to-eat meals. It’s been a great collaboration- we’ve been able to reach a larger audience, and we also have a super-talented team down there that takes our meat and makes wonderful creations with it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There really aren’t many whole animal shops in the country. Whole animal butchery not only requires more work- but you’re also committing to a model where you always have a limited amount of certain cuts- filet mignon is always going to be ~1% of the cow. You will always get pork shanks, even in the summer when most folks don’t want them. So, our challenge is not just cutting the animals (we’re good at that), but figuring out how to move the entire animal every single week. It’s a fascinating job- we’re constantly tweaking our products and systems to offer the widest selection of fresh meat, charcuterie, and meals to our customers, and trying to do so in a way that works within most folks’ budgets. We buy the best animals that we can, and it’s our job to make that meat as accessible as possible.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Left Bank Butchery and Alimentari at Left Bank?
We work with three local farms, Cane Creek Farm (5 minutes from the shop), Braeburn Farm (25 minutes), and Randleman Farm. We bring in 4 pigs per week and one and half cows per week. We do “seam” butchery, which means we pull out individual muscles, and you’ll find all types of roasts and steaks that you won’t find at other grocery stores. We also make a whole line of charcuterie and sausages. All of our animals live entirely on pasture and in the woods. Braeburn is 100% grass-fed beef, Randleman is finished with some grain that he grows on his farm. We can fill any type of special order, and our meat can be found Alimentari at Left Bank in Raleigh.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I owe a ton to Aron and Lisa Woolman- they were my partners in this endeavor. They had been great customers of the farm, and together we launched the shop in 2014. It was a pretty wild idea (I remember Aron saying, “Shouldn’t we open this in Durham???”- this would probably have made sense…), and they helped make it a reality.
Andrew Hannon runs the Alimentari at Left Bank. Andrew launched our previous attempt in a food hall in Chapel Hill. Although that project never really worked, we both learned so much, and when the opportunity to do a bigger and better job at Transfer Hall arrived, we were ready to give it another shot. Andrew is one of the most capable people I’ve ever met, and his versatile skill set makes him the perfect partner to run the shop in Raleigh. It’s amazing what that team can do in a tiny footprint.
Jason Powers is my partner now at Left Bank. Jason began working here 5 years ago and quickly became the solid partner that I needed to keep everything rolling. Just this year, we made it official, and I’m excited to see where he steers this new version of the shop.
Contact Info:
- Website:nwww.leftbankbutchery.com www.alimentariatleftbank.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leftbankbutchery/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leftbankbutchery/
Image Credits
Brian Hueske
Jeff Bramwell
Cindy Sydnor
Eliza MacLean
Jason Powers
