Brooklyn butcher opening in Hudson

The Meat Hook, 322 Warren St., is a whole meat butcher that debuted in Brooklyn 15 years ago, will open its third location Saturday at 10 a.m.

The butcher shop has two existing locations in Brooklyn, one in Williamsburg at 397 Graham Ave., and the recently opened shop at 301 Sackett St. in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood.

Brent Young, owner and founder of The Meat Hook, started looking at real estate for the Hudson location a year and a half ago.

Young’s Brooklyn stores have used Kinderhook Farm as one of its meat sources since 2001, he said.

“I feel like it’s been a 15-year dream,” he said. “I’ve been visiting Hudson for 15 years, and have had the farm partnership for 15 years, so it just feels like the right time to get a shop going.”

After the pandemic, the store’s Brooklyn locations got so busy that they felt it was the right time to expand, Young said.

“We really just got confident and comfortable with our business and everyone running it, and felt like it was the right time to expand with our team,” he said.

The Meat Hook has been partnering with Kinderhook Farm in Valatie to source some of its meat since the shop’s inception.

“We’ve worked closely with Kinderhook Farm for 15 years of business,” he said. “I feel like the Hudson Valley has been a destination for me, and a farm partnership.”

The Meat Hook is a whole animal shop, meaning they bring an entire animal into the shop and butcher it on site.

Young also wants to use the shop as an opportunity to educate consumers on where their meat comes from, and get them to try a new cut of meat they may not have had before.

“Getting whole animals is a huge opportunity for the consumer, but a challenge for the butcher because you have to market and sell the different cuts of meat,” Young said. “If it exists on the animal, we’re trying to sell it.”

Customers of the Hudson location will be able to see their meat cut right in front of them, with butcher blocks being located directly behind the counter in view.

“Transparency with our food has always been a cornerstone of our business,” Young said.

The Hudson location will be managed by Sam Turner, who has been with the company for five years.

Young said he feels lucky to be able to provide a butcher shop in Hudson.

“There’s a wealth of farm resources, it feels right they should have a butcher shop in town,” he said.

Young wants to work with more local farmers to build up the farm network in the area.

“I’m very excited to be able to expand the farm network,” he said. “It’s really thrilling to be able to get going and to talk to local farmers to see what they have going on, and expand their network.”

The Meat Hook will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays.