Greg Snyder spent years as a managing partner in the restaurant industry, working for one of the largest restaurant chains in the country. In 2013 he decided to venture out on his own and in Clearwater, Fla., opened a new enterprise called Southern Steer Butcher.
His vision was to bring the neighborhood butcher shop concept that a few Northeastern butcher shops were seeing success with and offer his community a high grade of meats, gourmet groceries and supreme customer service. To accomplish that, he started up his butcher shop with the mission to help his customers learn how to be good at preparing specialty meals and have fun doing it. Snyder’s role is to provide the right products and some meal ideas they could be proud to serve their family.
“Florida was the ideal place to launch this concept,” Snyder said. “The weather is hot most of the year and people are always outside grilling and gathering so we provide quality meats and more that they were seeking.
“It began as a butcher shop with a full-service meat counter, a personal greeting to every customer, personalized service, eye-to-eye contact and a sincere thank you to those who shopped with us, to now a rapidly expanding Butcher Shop Franchise that others can bring to their neighborhood,” he said.
His business started in a leased 2,700-square-foot facility in a busy mall with three nationally known flagship stores surrounding him. Snyder hit the ground running 10 years ago, buying sub-primals and breaking them down into a variety of custom cuts. He remains on the lookout for grocery goods from local vendors to sell when possible too. His butcher shop also offers homemade sides, craft beers, wines, desserts, jams, dips, dressings and, of course, charcoal.
Southern Steer Butcher makes about 75 value-added products, including a variety of sausages and marinated meat and poultry products. (Source: Southern Steer Butcher)A working model
Realizing that he had hit on a sound formula, he opened a second shop four years later and sold it to a friend as his first franchise location. He knew his concept could be replicated and decided to franchise all future locations, following the successful business model he already had established.
“We now have a Southern Steer Butcher shop in Orlando, St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and Sarasota,” Snyder said. “My son manages one location, and my daughter wants to be involved in the business as well. I expect that by the end of next year we will have a double-digit number of locations. Site shopping is already in place for two new franchise locations that would offer a soon-to-be total of six shops.”
As detailed on the website southernsteerfranchise.com, the franchise program is built and ready for more entrepreneurs. The website details the initial investment, training support offered, franchisee and customer testimonials and more.
Snyder advised that there are about 70 to 80 products made in-house, including sausages and weekly specials. There are, however, some things like their bestsellers that remain in the line-up. It’s their marinated steak tips that are vacuum tumbled, the Argentine marinade being a fan favorite, and marinated chicken (with several marinade flavors to choose from) that keeps customers coming back weekly.
Yet Snyder, tapping into his pre-ownership experience, realized that he was not just selling meats, he was selling excitement and convenience. He launched a five-meal pack program that must be preordered by customers each Wednesday and is available for pick-up on Fridays. This concept feeds five different meals for a family of four for $129 (or $69 for two). One recent week’s offerings included meals composed of chili, Hawaiian pork butt, Italian sausage and peppers, butter garlic tomato chicken and Argentine chicken tacos. Most of the meals are ready for the crockpot or grill. He’s even developed a “Keto-friendly” meal pack.
Seafood items, like bacon-wrapped scallops or shrimp, are also offered at Southern Steer Butcher. You can also find Australian Wagyu beef, steak or chicken kabobs, jalapeno poppers and more at their locations.
Southern Steer Butcher offers prep classes that teach customers how to prepare special meals while connecting with others in their community after hours at the shop. (Source: Southern Steer Butcher)Ever the thinking merchandiser, Snyder also began offering Food Prep Classes, a 10-meal package that feeds four to five people for about $179. The prep classes not only teach customers how to prepare special meals to cook later but allows them to connect with others in their community at the shop in a fun atmosphere after hours.
A personal philosophy Snyder keeps dear is that his business is built on “gratitude and grace.” He developed a way to help serve his community through what is known as Southern Steer Project 52.
“That means that once a week, in every location, we try to find someone or something that would benefit from our help,” he said. “It can be a family that suffered a tragic loss, weather damage, perhaps a local fire station, or any situation where we can help someone out. We make that need our cause and try to provide food or help where we can. It’s personal to us and it means so much to what we are about.”
Snyder, who turns 53 in September, expands even further on his personal feelings about what he deems he and his business are attempting to accomplish.
“It’s important that we take the time to anticipate the customer’s needs and give them ideas,” Snyder said.
“We are part of the communities in which we are located. When we see an organization in need, we let them use our store as a fund-raising location. They may be selling a product for a cause, maybe something like cases of water, but it’s about the community. When they do that at our locations, we give them 20% of profits from sales of our products that are attributable to them or the customers they brought to us.”
