H & S Meats in the Saint John City Market. (Photo: Cherise Letson)
The owners of H & S Meats will be bringing a little bit of the Saint John City Market to the Kennebecasis Valley with its new location.
H & S Meats, which opened in the City Market in September 2019 by owners Scott and Holly Scichilone, will be opening its second location at 221 Hampton Road in Quispamsis this spring.
Scott says operating a store in Quispamsis has always been the dream.
“When Holly and I started dating 20-years ago I said it would be nice to have a butcher out in our community the Kennebecasis Valley. We’ve had some different places like Colwells in Renforth that was an iconic piece of the valley for many years then they closed up,” he said in an interview with Huddle. “There have been some other little places, but not like a true butcher, hanging beef and things like that.”
Scott had worked in the meat departments at various Superstore and Sobeys locations for 18 years before opening H & S Meats. After a successful year-and-half of running the market location, they finally feel ready to expand.
“We’re a year-and-half into it and we’ve been fortunate enough to be successful and to be able to provide a good quality local product,” said Scott. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback from the Saint John community and the outskirts. That motivated me to take this next step that I’ve always dreamed about.”
The new H & S Meats location will offer the same open concept, old-style butcher shop experience as the market location. It will also carry cheeses, seafood, dulse, produce, and hand-made baked goods.
“This is going to be like the Saint John market but a little bit more compact. It’s going to be unique in the sense that a lot of it is going to be customer-service [focused],” said Scott.
“You’re going to see me butchering and we’ll be cutting the cheeses and slicing the deli meets there in front of you. It’s all an interactive experience. It’s not someplace you’re going to come and get a bunch of generic stuff and you’re rushed through the door. If you want a two-inch steak, I’ll cut you a two-inch steak. If you want a half-inch steak, I’ll cut you a half-inch steak.
As with the market, the Quispamsis location will source locally wherever possible.
“We have about five different farms that we’re going to be dealing with. From beef to poultry, to produce and fruits. We get cheese from all around the world, but we have great people around here that produce cheese … it’s an endless supply,” said Scott. “I try to keep everything as local as humanly possible.”
The new location is expected to open between the end of March and April. Scott said they hope it will provide another place for Kennebecasis Valley residents to get fresh local food at a fair price with great customer service.
“Every customer that comes in here we spend about 10-15 minutes with. But that’s part of our business. That’s something that I invest the labour in,” He said. “I truly think people like to be able to discuss what they want for supper … That’s one thing that’s missing out of just about everywhere in the city and surrounding areas, and in general.”
Cherise Letson is the associate editor of Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
