Thursday Merchant: For Butler Meats, the quality is in the flavor

Butler Meats owner David Theiss is not afraid to tell you his meats are a little more expensive than what you'll find in the grocery store.

"We don't pride ourselves on cheap meat," Theiss said. "We pride ourselves on good quality premium meats such as USDA Choice Yield 1 Beef. That's how my business has grown - everything tastes so good."

Stepping into the butcher shop on Carson Street, it almost looks like you've stepped back in time to when meat was fresh daily and the butcher was friendly and helpful.

"We love our customers, and like to greet them by their first names," Theiss said.

Butler Meats has been a mainstay in Carson City since 1973 when it was owned by Robert Butler.

Theiss started working there for Butler in 1975, and bought the shop in 1984. Both of his sons and daughter have worked for him, as well as his two brothers.

"We are a real family-owned and operated business," Theiss said, adding that his children are learning all about the business."

Theiss called his butcher shop unique.

"It's a dying trade most places, but this one is thriving," he said.

What makes his business a standout, he said, is the flavor of the meats he sells.

"That's how we keep our business growing. It tastes so good, they'll keep coming back. I tell people if they want to try just one thing, to buy a pound of hamburger, and after they try it, they'll come back," Theiss said.

An enormous variety of meats means there are plenty of natural choices for the holidays in the winter and plenty for the grill during the summer months.

There are 45 different varieties of sausage including favorites such as Basque chorizo, Portuguese linguica, British bangers, Cajun, chicken with sun-dried tomato and basil, bourbon griller, jalepeno breakfast sausage, chicken apple, turkey cranberry and lots more. Not to mention four types of bacon.

Theiss even offers specialty burgers including bleu cheese, jalepeno, bacon, onion, turkey and garlic pepper and the new Battle Mountain chorizo-infused flavored burgers.

All chicken is from a free-range farm where the birds are humanely grown and minimally processed - because water dilutes flavor, he said. They are naturally fed using no growth hormones or antibiotics and they are pesticide free.

Butler's offers many seasonal specials. Some of the favorite holiday treats are all-natural fresh turkeys, spiral honey-glazed hickory-smoked hams or prime rib roast ready for the oven.

"It's a beautiful piece," he said.

Among the services he offers are wild game processing - more than 500 head annually, including elk, deer, antelope and others.

"Last year, we developed a jalepeno salami for wild game that has really taken off," Theiss said. "People love it."

For the lunch crowd, there are lots of sandwiches to choose from in the deli, which is open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the shop provides snack sticks, sauces, bulk packages, party trays and catering.

"It's all about flavor," Theiss said. "We care about what we put in our food and we don't need preservatives because we make it fresh every day. Everything is all natural - no salts or hormones. Meat here is just as it was 50 years ago."