Arcadian Pastures (Closed)
UPDATE: This business has closed.
“When people think ‘butcher,’ they’re usually picturing a guy slinging meat around with a bloody cleaver,” says Jullene “Jules” Cunningham (left), co-owner of Arcadian Pastures. We laughed, but had to admit — even we didn’t immediately picture the two Black women (Jules and co-owner Louisa Mathis) who run the charming Bed-Stuy butcher shop. But they’re out here chopping it up with the best of them.
The duo opened the shop last October as an expansion of their original location in upstate New York, where Jules lives, near the farm from which they source their organic foods. (Louisa resides steps away from the Brooklyn outpost.) “Every neighborhood deserves quality food,” Jules says of the decision to bring Arcadian Pastures to Bed-Stuy. “All areas should have these resources.”
Not only do the butchers of Arcadian Pastures defy expectation; so does the shop’s cheerful decor. You won’t find white tile walls or cold metal counters here. Instead, picture a sun-drenched, airy market with a homey assortment of preserves and condiments. Less is more at Arcadian Pastures, down to the careful selection of vegetables and dairy. (Plus a Black Lives Matter sign). “We’re like Martha Stewart Butcher Shop,” Jules quips. “It looks like a boutique, and that makes people feel more comfortable shopping for rib eye. We’re trying to create an easier, more accessible shopping experience.”
The cuts at Arcadian Pastures are organic, local, grass-fed and non-GMO. On weekends, the shop offers a fresh seafood counter. And every Saturday from noon to 4, they fire up a sidewalk grill for burgers, chicken and (their wildly popular) sausages on the go.
“It looks like a boutique, and that makes people feel more comfortable shopping for rib eye. We’re trying to create an easier, more accessible shopping experience.”
“It’s pretty exciting to be young entrepreneurs here,” says Louisa, who was born and raised in Brooklyn. “Being the first entrepreneur in my family, and bringing this to the neighborhood, is very important to me. It means power.”
210 Patchen Avenue, 347-240-2600, Arcadian Pastures on Instagram
