My kid asked me why we don't sell the 'pretty' cuts anymore.

Was cleaning up after a long Saturday and my daughter, she's ten, was helping bag some trim. She pointed at the case and said, 'Dad, why is it all just ground and stew meat now? Where are the nice steaks?' I told her straight, the shop can't move a whole ribeye for what it costs us to get it in the door. A guy came in yesterday and walked right out when he saw the price on a New York strip. Had a talk with my meat guy, Frank, and he said his boss is pushing more primal boxes of chuck and round because that's what moves. It hit different coming from her, you know? Makes you wonder if we're just training a whole new generation to think meat should only come ground up. How are other shops dealing with the high-end cut slowdown?

2 comments

2 Comments

lunar477d ago

Honestly, that line about "training a whole new generation" feels like looking back at a past that wasn't really there for most people. Maybe the market is just correcting itself, and fancy steaks were always a luxury item that got weirdly common for a bit. If chuck and round are what sells, then that's what people actually want and can afford. It's not some big cultural loss, it's just shops selling what their customers will buy. Maybe the next generation will be smarter about not overspending on a single meal.

rowan_butler937d ago

Yeah, that's a good point from @lunar47 about the market correcting. Makes me wonder if the bigger shift is just less cooking skill getting passed down, so people stick to the cheaper, simpler cuts because they're less intimidating to mess up.