By Lena Miano | Photography by John Michael Simpson

Local butcher expands to Siler City after receiving support from the Chatham community

Chatham Meat Company, named one of the best new businesses by our readers in this year’s Best of Chatham poll, sources meat from local farms and uses a sustainable operations loop to process its products. The business offers weekly specials including steak, hamburger patties, pork chops and more at two butcher shops – one in Sanford and the newest in Siler City.

Chris Beal grew up on a farm in Goldston, North Carolina, where he developed an early passion for understanding where his food came from. After graduating from Catawba College in 2010 with a degree in business administration, Chris joined the food industry as a hospitality manager. Four years later, he became a general manager at Tribeca Hospitality – a group that owns three restaurants in the Triangle – and took part ownership of the company in January 2022.

Beef shortages and distribution issues during the pandemic made Chris realize how fragile the food ecosystem can be for restaurants. He also learned how much food is wasted when meat is processed by larger food distributors. “I was driving home each day trying to find beef and knowing that I had cattle at home,” Chris says. He knew many local farms, including his own, had animals to supply, but lacked the ability to process the meat and distribute it to local restaurants and dinner tables. Chris founded Chatham Meat Company to address these issues and has created a hyper-local, sustainable operation in the process.

He first teamed up with USDA-inspected Chaudhry Halal Meats in Siler City. Chaudhry processed cattle from local farms, including New Hope Farm, Sydnor Angus Farm, Scarlett Farms, J-N-A Farms and Manco Farm Inc. The “pasture-to-plate” setup was run out of the back of all three Tribeca restaurants pre-pandemic; from there, Chris knew he would need to find a permanent solution to continue the process.

The next step was a brick-and-mortar. It was important to Chris that customers feel at home and informed about making their selections in the store. In October 2022, Chris and his wife, Holly Beal, purchased the former Thomas & Sons Butcher Shop in Sanford and transformed it into Chatham Meat Company’s first storefront. The community quickly rallied around the business.

The established butcher shop offered a successful starting point for Chatham Meat Company, but something was missing. Chris and Holly were not able to personalize the shop in the way they wanted, but luckily, they soon were ready to expand again.

Holly’s expertise from running Beech & Boon – a children’s clothing store she co-owns in downtown Sanford – was crucial as the team developed a marketing plan for a new, custom-built shop. Holly also helped develop an ideal layout for the space and advertised the grand opening on social media. On March 18, 2023, Chatham Meat Company opened its second location at 114 W. Raleigh St. in Siler City, and more than 150 people crowded into the building for the celebration.

“We had the people in place to be able to be successful based off of their knowledge and strengths,” Chris says. He relied on friends and family, his relationships with restaurant professionals and learning from farmers to gain the insight needed to fill this supply gap.

Today, both stores employ four team members each. Chris hopes to continue expanding the business to work with more farmers, increase their local offerings and open other restaurants in the future.

“We are truly passionate about what we do, and we want to see Chatham Meat Company grow and see the community grow around it,” Chris says. “Our main goal is to create experiences for people so they truly understand the value of bringing pasture to plate.”

Elevate your Chatham County experience. Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive insights, event invitations, and stories you won’t find anywhere else.