Reinventing the Local Butcher Shop, Southern Steer Blends Quality with Gourmet Appeal
Franchise FastLane will capitalize on U.S. consumers’ desire to buy premium foods from neighborhood shops while it boosts the growth of the Southern Steer Butcher franchise. Southern Steer Butcher franchises sell prime cuts of beef, marinated meats, and an array of other gourmet grocery items in retail spaces of 2,000 square feet or smaller. Franchise FastLane, a leading franchise sales organization, will help the young Southern Steer Butcher franchise expand its footprint nationwide.
Southern Steer Butcher founder Greg Snyder – an avid griller – was a pioneer in the resurgence of local butcher shops when he opened his first Southern Steer Butcher location more than a decade ago in Clearwater, Fla. But he was onto something: The friendly neighborhood butcher is back. The number of butcher shops has increased about 3.4% per year for the past five years, according to a new report from the financial advisory firm FinmodelsLab, which also noted that net profits from butcher shops can range from 5% to 10%.
A Popular Concept
The success of Snyder’s initial site prompted him to open a second store in 2017 in Sarasota. Snyder began to franchise in 2021 after he spent years refining his business model and became confident that he could leverage Americans’ love affair with fine cuisine along with their growing preference for buying meal ingredients from neighborhood shops.
For consumers, the compelling attractions of the Southern Steer Butcher franchise are excellent customer experience, premium foods, and top-notch advice for preparing those foods. In addition to meats, Southern Steer Butcher franchises sell side dishes, desserts, spices, marinades, craft beers and wine.
The Business Model
In a news release about the partnership with Franchise FastLane, Snyder pointed out the potential profitability of operating a Southern Steer Butcher franchise. “Our business model is predicated on offering a reasonable investment-to-sales ratio within a small, retail footprint. The capital investments we’ve made in the brand have created a true turnkey operation.”
Also in the news release, Franchise FastLane co-founder and CEO Carey Gille stated that “there’s a lot to like about the Southern Steer Butcher franchise opportunity. This is a brand looking to tap into the ever-increasing audience of food-conscious consumers.”
Southern Steer Butcher Support and Plans
Every Southern Steer Butcher franchisee will enjoy stellar support, Gille added. The brand provides real estate and marketing advice, intensive training, and inventory and financial management. And owners find Southern Steer Butcher to be an emotionally as well as financially rewarding investment: Community involvement and paying success forward are core operating principles of the brand. To that end, Southern Steer Butcher launched Project 52, a nonprofit program that combats food insecurity in communities surrounding the brand’s stores.
Patrick Sanchez, Franchise FastLane’s vice president of franchise development for Southern Steer Butcher, outlined the brand’s current status and disclosed expansion goals. “Southern Steer Butcher has established five franchise locations, two multi-unit agreements, and there are three additional stores currently in development,” he said in the news release. “As for near-term growth, we plan to target Texas, Florida and Georgia, but this brand is open for business for anyone looking for a prime territory in their own community. … We’re excited to see what our proven systems and operations can accomplish for this up-and-coming brand.” For more information on franchising with Southern Steer Butcher, please visit https://southernsteerfranchise.com.
About Franchise FastLane
Founded in 2017, Franchise FastLane provides a wide range of development services to new and emerging franchise brands. FastLane helps franchisors perfect their discovery process, and it delivers qualified franchisee leads to growing brands, accelerates responsible franchise growth, gives the franchisor quarterly updates on brand health, and coaches leaders of franchises in one-on-one sessions. In addition, franchisors have access to its preferred network of vendors.
Based in Omaha, Neb., the franchise sales organization has more than two dozen brands in its portfolio, eight of which were ranked on this year’s Entrepreneur magazine’s coveted Franchise 500 list. To date, these efforts have helped its partner brands to award franchises in more than 7,300 territories.
