Chefs, butchers and co-owners Elliott Orwick and Tyler Thomas bring sustainability and transparency to whole animal butchery in the Valley.
Liz Long
Yard Bull Meats celebrates their grand opening for local products by knowledgeable butchers.
For more video and images of the Yard Bull Meats grand opening celebration, visit our Instagram Reel here!
Yard Bull Meats, Roanoke’s newest and only whole animal butcher shop hosted its grand opening today in South Roanoke. The shop is the latest addition to the thriving Crystal Spring Ave. fine foods and dining district, joining regional favorites The River and Rail Restaurant and Crystal Spring Grocery Co.
The butcher shop is opening in the former Goldsmith Jeweler location, after undergoing a stunning transformation. The sleek and modern shop design features wall-to-wall subway tiles, a solid oak walk-in cooler door, butcher block accents, state-of-the-art processing and smoking equipment, and a substantial five-condenser cooling system. Every element of the shop has been carefully researched and selected.
The co-owners and butchers, Tyler Thomas and Elliott Orwick, met three years ago and quickly realized they were both working toward the same goal of opening a studious, sustainability-minded, whole animal butcher shop in Roanoke. Thomas, known locally as the executive chef at the highly-regarded River and Rail Restaurant, located next door to the butcher shop, spent years perfecting his butchery skills at Stock Provisions in Charlottesville.
The trend of small, local butcher shops is resurfacing in cities across the United States. This shift makes sense in an era when consumers are increasingly demanding more knowledge around how their food was produced, aligning with the ethics of shops like Yard Bull Meats who value transparency and sustainability.
Yard Bull Meats offers all cuts of pork, beef, chicken, a variety of seafood, five rotating flavors of sausage, dips, cured meats, deli meat, caviar, grilling and smoking supplies, spices and rubs, and butchery and cooking classes. Both Elliott and Tyler believe that education is the most valuable thing they have to offer the community, and invite all food lovers to “know your butcher” and come chat with them in-person at their brand new South Roanoke location.
Learn more at YardBullMeats.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @yardbullmeats.