Yes, we have plenty of fresh Gulf seafood on 30A, but when you’re looking for high-quality meats, they are a little scarce. The crew at The Salty Butcher remedies that seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. with their old-school butcher shop with onsite meat masters ready to slice your cuts to order in Greenway Station.
And one of the partners, Aubrey Craig, will be offering his certified sommelier skills to help guests pair meats with the perfect bottle, though he cautions this is not a wine shop, just a spot to get great bottles that pair well with what they serve.
Craig (you know him from Driftwood Wine and Spirits in Watercolor) and partners Harrison Holditch (hello Distillery 98) and Chef Stephen Bucalo (the man behind Macho Taco Cantina) found inspiration in those little sandwich shops in Italy and France where you walk up to the counter, talk to your butcher, and leave with high-quality cheese, meat, and bread for a delicious lunch. They offer specialty cuts of beef, chicken, and pork that come from farms they know and can trace, but they also want to be, “…the spot to grab a good quick lunch, that’s not too expensive. We decided if we’re gonna do this butcher shop, we should also use the cheese and charcuterie meats that we’re going to be selling retail and make sandwiches that people could grab to take down to the beach, or back to the office in Seagrove,” said Craig.
To that end, guests will find a familiar scent emanating from the Salty Butcher, the smell of Black Bear Bread. The legendary loaves will be the foundation for the 8-10 sandwiches on regular rotation, like the chunky chicken salad and meaty Italian. And those meats are being cut on a true piece of art, a Snaidero Slicer. The gleaming ebony, brass, and chrome stunner was made by a family in Italy who only produce two per month, they are that specialized. It is a visual aha moment set against the lush emerald green tile and bras accents throughout the shop.
The shelves in the Salty Butcher feature retail wine, like Craig’s current fave the Soter Estates Pinto Noir, “…perfect for a pork chop or filet with its balanced profile. It’s a great expression of Burgundian-style wine.” There are also specialty cuts of meat, like lamb from Thomas Keller’s Elysian Fields—the only lamb raised strictly for food production. It is legendary in New York culinary circles and now is available right here on 30A. I personally went home with a flat iron Wagyu steak from Washington State that Craig swore was the best he’s had in years (he wasn’t joking; it was ridiculously buttery). There’s also chicken from Joyce Farms, Walden cheese from Sequatchie Cove, Tennessee (it rivals creamy brie from France imo), and a whole shelf of Spicewalla spices (the best out there, created right in Asheville, NC) for whatever direction dinner is going.
Holditch elaborated, “The goal is for you to be able to make an entire meal from the store. Obviously, it’s not a place where you do your entire week’s grocery shopping, but if you’re just coming into town or want to have a quick steak dinner, you’ll be able to grab fresh produce, pasta, sauces, spices, and everything you need to prepare an entire meal in the store.”
You can also make a banging cheese and charcuterie board from the extensive offerings. “The goal is to have the biggest selection in Walton County. It will be a mix of traditional high-end European cheeses and charcuterie meats, and then more local specialties from throughout the Southeast. There are great creameries right here making exceptional cheeses, and we definitely have a local focus, but we also want you to be able to come in and get that Parmesan Reggiano or Fra’ Mani Soppresseta, if that’s what you’re looking for,” said Craig. And they even sell beautiful black slate boards from Brooklyn Slate if you plan to assemble them at home.
On the horizon are workshops on all things meat and cheese, wine and cheese nights, and chef tables with Chef Bucalo, but for now there is a curated selection of the best products you can find from around the world, and made-to-order sandwiches that will keep you coming back for more.
So stop in and talk to the crew; they all have deep knowledge about the products and love to share that with their customers as they’re trying to pick the right cut of meat for a special dinner or just pack a cooler for lunch on the beach. Now, that’s the cheese.
