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Nicole Scheiwiller (48) serves a customer at Schlossmetzg in Herisau AR. She smiles. Her husband, Patrik, 48, is cutting pork loin into slices for a fondue Chinese dinner plate in the open next room. The bell rings constantly as new customers enter the store. “December, and especially Christmas, is the most important time of the year for us butchers,” says master butcher Scheiwiller.
Homemade specialties such as fillet of Appenzeller, Mostbröckli, meatballs and thyme fries are lined up behind the glass counter. But at Christmas, customers always tasted the same thing: fondue Chinese style. “Every year we try to persuade our customers to other products,” says Nicole Scheiwiller in an interview with Blick. However, fondue chinoise suits holidays and large groups very well. At Chinoise, friends and family sit together, relax, and cook thinly sliced meats in stock. The couple explains that no one needs to stand in the kitchen for long periods of time when there are guests at home.
For Chinoise, the Scheiwillers would cut the meat very thinly and freeze it. Today they prepare it in thicker slices and no more than 24 hours before eating, so it tastes better. There is a night shift at the Schlossmetzg before Christmas. A few customers then give up and order a rack of beef, fillet cuts or turkey.
The last of twelve butcher shops
The Scheiwillers operate the last private butcher shop in Herisau, a town of about 16,000 people. When they took over Schlossmetzg from Patrik Scheiwiller’s parents 20 years ago, there were five businesses. And when his family started the business in 1971, there were even twelve butcher shops in the town. He regrets this development: “If we had competitors, we could exchange ideas, help each other and inspire each other.” Specialist shops have disappeared because there is a lack of young people to take over when they retire. Retailers such as Coop and Migros would replace village butchers.
Schlossmetzg operators are bucking this trend. Your recipe: deliver high quality, give customers personal advice, and have a quick chat every now and then. As a specialist shop, it is also important to remain innovative, says Patrik Scheiwiller. “We review it regularly and also respond to customers’ special requests,” he says. The butcher shop also recently started offering the very popular pepper-crusted veal ham. Like most of the series, it’s homemade. A sign on the wall shows which farmer the meat comes from.
Many more customers than ten years ago
The mixture seems to work. “Before we expanded our store ten years ago, I knew all the customers by name. But today they come from all over the region, so this is not always possible anymore, but we make an effort,” says Nicole Scheiwiller. This is especially difficult at Christmas time. Then even more customers would come to the store. Strong ratings on Google can also contribute to this.
It is difficult for a village butcher to survive by selling on the counter alone. Schlossmetzg therefore diversified by supplying nursing homes, restaurants, canteens, gas station shops, vocational schools and offering a party service.
Details that matter
Dorfmetzg scores points during the Christmas season with a thoughtful move: Customers often want to repeat the previous year’s festive meal at Christmas. However, many people do not remember the exact order. Therefore, all Christmas dinner orders were put aside at the Schlossmetzg. The problem has already been resolved. “Customers really appreciate it,” says Nicole Scheiwiller.
18 people work at Schlossmetzg. The Scheiwillers recently hired a new expert. Searching for butcher apprentices is still a challenging process. “Some years the search is challenging, others we find someone pretty quickly,” says Nicole Scheiwiller. “In general, we have an advantage in rural areas thanks to our proximity to agriculture.” Friends often recommend people.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
