The PBC Story

The PBC Story

Prospect Butcher Co. is proudly worker-owned.

That's right, as a business, instead of choosing to hog all the profits, we decided to do things differently.

Now, I know what you're thinking - "Worker-owned? In this economy? How the hell do they pull that off?" We believe our dedicated, hard-working staff deserve a piece of the pie, so we had to get creative and invent our own way of doing things. Our co-founder Corey (he's the numbers guy around here) cooked up a, perhaps unique, system by establishing an LLC structure that ensures a portion of our company is shared among all employees. Basically, when Prospect Butcher Co. wins, our staff wins too. They get a cut of the profits, in addition to all of the standard rights and protections any shareholder (including voting rights) would get.

And why does that matter to you, our loyal customers? It's simple: happy butchers make tasty meats. When our team is fired up and feeling valued, they go the extra mile to make sure every cut is pure perfection. That's how we keep our shop stocked with the best meat you can buy, day in and day out.

We take pride in our unconventional approach and believe that prioritizing our people, both butchers and customers, is the best way to sling meat. 

How did Prospect Butcher Co. come to be?

Prospect Butcher Co. started with a phone call between two friends, Corey Hammond and Greg Brockman, back in late 2019. Corey had been living in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights for a few years and always wondered why there wasn't a proper butcher shop in the neighborhood. Greg, a seasoned pro in the world of whole animal butchery who had spent a decade honing his craft, was the perfect person to pose that question to. They quickly cooked up the idea to open a top-notch butcher shop in Prospect Heights.

As they were scheming, Covid hit and shut down the city. They decided to start with a pop-up and their friends at local restaurant Faun generously shared their kitchen space. PBC’s Covid-era popup operated May 2020 through September 2020 and became a neighborhood favorite. 

Greg and Corey finally opened up on Vanderbilt Avenue a few blocks up from Prospect Park in January 2021. Greg had assembled an amazing team from his NYC network, and as business got busier we took more and more staff on.

In April 2024, Prospect Butcher Co. expands (doubling its stores) and is opening in Greenpoint, a neighborhood hungry for a quality butcher shop. PBC’s Greenpoint shop even has extra space to hold classes for interested folks wanting to learn more about whole animal butchery and try their hand at it. 

You can now say hi to your local butcher at Prospect Butcher Co. in Prospect Heights and Greenpoint, where you’ll find us in our shops carving whole animals, simmering bone broths, baking lard cookies, smoking bacon, twisting sausages, toasting spices, and answering any questions you may have about the perfect cut, what to make for dinner, or anything you can think up. We stay creative so you can leave our shop with the best meat in the city.

Our meat is the best, here’s why:

We believe that we sling the best meat you can buy. Why? At Prospect Butcher Co., you’ll find locally and sustainably sourced air-chilled chicken, duck, and pasture-raised pork, beef, lamb, offal and game meats raised on family-run farms. We butcher whole-animals in-shop and take care to use every part of the animal to reduce food waste. When you buy meat at Prospect Butcher, it will be fresh, flavorful, and the best choice you can make in the byzantine mess of our country’s food systems.

A few things to know:

Animals raised on pastures, soaking up sunshine and grazing, simply taste better. Animals that graze on pastures consume a natural, diverse diet of grasses, legumes, and other forage plants. This varied diet results in meat with a more complex and nuanced flavor profile. In contrast, conventionally raised animals are often fed a uniform diet of grains, which can lead to a less distinctive taste. Pasture-raised animals have the freedom to move around and exercise, which leads to better muscle development. This increased muscle tone contributes to a more flavorful and texturally appealing meat. And, pasture-raised animals typically grow at a slower rate compared to conventionally raised livestock. This slower growth allows for the development of more intramuscular fat (marbling) and a more mature flavor in the meat.

Purchasing from family-owned farms helps to preserve the tradition of family farming and maintains a more diverse and resilient local food system. You are directly investing in the livelihoods of small-scale farmers who are dedicated to raising animals ethically and sustainably. 

Choosing our meat guarantees you’re not consuming added hormones and chemicals often found in factory-farmed products. Our partner farms raise animals traditionally, usually outdoors and on pasture. There is no need for our farmers to pump animals with dangerous chemicals, unnecessary antibiotics, or hormones as they raise them humanely without the stress of factory farm conditions.