The Butchers Advocate, 18 June 2021
Nestled in the rural Victorian town of Newborough, 125km Southeast of Melbourne, you will find Merchant Family Butchers. Brenton and Racheal Merchant are the proud owners of the small family run butcher shop.
It is known and loved throughout the local community for providing quality produce and friendly service.
From humble beginnings, Brenton started his apprenticeship at age 15 and was a fully qualified butcher by 18.
With over 15 years in the industry, his experience is extensive and covers a range of roles across the meat supply chain.
These include small butcher stores, large butcher stores and meat processing facilities such as abattoirs.
The husband-and-wife team value customers like family and enjoy being a central hub in the local community.
While they have not any made massive changes to the store and its appearance since buying it under two years ago, they certainly have plans for modernisation soon.
“We certainly plan on growing our business with new products and modernising its appearance to increase our exposure and expand our customer base.”
Brenton and Racheal’s main customer base is the local community, which has a population of just over 6750 people.
“We hope that through social media we can really expand our customer base and attract people from other communities to come and visit our store.”
Merchant Family Butchers unique point of difference is their huge range of products which include chicken kievs, family pies, pasties, quiches, and a variety of smallgoods products. They also offer a range of services to customers, including bulk ordering, wholesale, spit hire and home delivery.
“We really believe these products and service offerings are what make us different, customers are at the core of everything we do!”
Besides Brenton and Rachael, Merchant Family Butchers employs two local boys as apprentices. They enjoy teaching them the art of butchery, passing on a wealth of knowledge and passion for the trade.
“We are really passionate about what we do. We love sharing our products and knowledge with our team and customers.”
The team was recently featured in the local newspaper after their shop and recipes were chosen as one of Australia’s fifty best butchers to feature in ‘The Butcher’s Cookbook.’ This has been an exciting selection for Brenton and Rachael as it showcases butchers from across the country.
“It’s a great feeling and really makes years of work feel like they are worth it!”
Merchant Family Butchers is active in the local community, offering Yallourn North football and netball club a 5% discount and weekly meat tray. They also offer the same discount to Newborough football, netball, and cricket club.
“We love being active and involved in our local community, many of our customers are like family.”
Brenton and Rachael are focused on continuing to grow their business and hope to own it outright in the future.
“We have a 14-month-old son, so we are just focusing on family and business now. We love to et involved in local markets, attractions and community events; it really is a great town to run a business in!”
When asked what advice Brenton and Rachael had for someone considering to work in the meat industry, they said; “Be friendly to customers, they are your wage!”
Visit their Facebook: www.facebook.com/Merchant-Family-Butchers
