For ShopRite butchers, it’s all about premium service

This holiday season, ShopRite has highlighted its team of highly trained butchers as in-house experts who can help customers make the most of holiday meals, whether barbecuing, roasting or stewing.

Keasbey, N.J.-based ShopRite, which operates under Wakefern Food Corp., says it takes extra steps every year during the busy holiday season to ensure its customers are getting a premium service while saving them precious time. ShopRite butchers help customers find the perfect size turkey for their guests, and shoppers can pre-order sausage for their stuffing or extra thighs and wings for gravy.

ShopRite of Pearl River’s team of butchers in the ShopRite store in Pearl River, N.Y. has nearly 160 years of combined experience. It’s not uncommon for customers to ask for their favorite butcher at the ShopRite of Pearl River.

“Our ShopRite butchers provide great service with a real personal touch that our customers appreciate,” said ShopRite Pearl River Meat Manager Bill Scorzetti. “We want to give the best cut of meat to our customers because that means they will come back to us.”
Eighty-three-year-old Bernard Smith, who has worked at the Pearl River store for the last decade, stumbled into the trade more than 60 years ago when his mother wanted him to find a job. She got him a spot in a butcher shop in Manhattan and he never looked back.
“I love what I do, and I love working with customers. We take a lot of pride in our work,” Smith said.
 At ShopRite of Hillsdale in Hillsdale, N.J., Tony Garcia, a third-generation butcher, also followed his family’s tradition in the trade.
“The first thing my dad said was, ‘You have to take care of the customer,” Garcia said. “That’s the key to the business. If you take care of the customer, you’ll be fine.”
The ShopRite of Hillsdale recently opened one the very first certified organic butcher service station in a supermarket. Butchers at the store will have the ability to prepare and custom cut organic beef, poultry and pork on a USDA-certified counter dedicated to organic food preparation.