
Montclair is known for its restaurants and bars—from high-end eateries to bumping, nationally recognized dives to mom-and-pop restaurants that have been open for decades. It’s also one of the New Jersey suburbs that welcomes droves of expats from Brooklyn and Manhattan. And so it follows that the locavore-driven food scene on the other side of the Hudson River would make its way to Essex County, too.
Montclair Meats, a whole-animal butcher shop on Valley Road, opened in April, following the sustainability-focused Fratelli Freshi Seafood Company in late 2023 and Van Hook Cheese & Grocery in 2021.
Steve Kim, owner and head butcher at Montclair Meats, was born in Plainsboro and has been living in Jersey City for years. While working at a finance job in Manhattan, he realized he loved food so much that he wanted to pivot careers.
“I was interested in sustainability. How to get ethically raised animals to consumers was fascinating,” he explained one recent afternoon at his shop, a bright and airy space where butchers break down huge beef and pork into chops and steaks right in front of customers.
Kim worked at various whole-animal butcher and specialty shops—including Foster Sundry in Brooklyn and Darke Pines in Jersey City—before deciding to strike out on his own. And when the time came, he decided to build his business in the Garden State.
“I always knew I wanted to be [here],” he says. “Jersey pride!”

Montclair Meats offers humanely and sustainably raised beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Photo: Courtesy of Georgia Kral
So what, exactly, is whole-animal butchery? It’s a commitment on the part of butchers to use all parts of the animal and to buy steers directly from farmers. Cutting out the middleman ensures quality, explains Kim.
“I can tell when [an animal] was killed,” he adds.
Kim admits he offers a “niche product,” but says a main goal of whole-animal butchery is to make it accessible to everyone. That does pose some challenges, most acutely in terms of financial feasibility. Animals raised and butchered in this manner cost more, and Americans are accustomed to cheaper meats.
Bone-in Berkshire pork chops at Montclair Meats are $16.99 per pound, but the animal was raised humanely and sustainably in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and I can say without hesitation that the flavor was far superior to conventional pork—earthy and almost sweet.
Montclair Meats also offers chickens from an Amish farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; makes a wide selection of sausages in house, sells all manner of offal, and even makes treats and food for dogs.
The shop is looking to expand its business in the near future with special events, dinners with wine pairings, charcuterie and butchering classes, steak omakase tastings and additional locations. Some of those offerings will take place in the Montclair space’s back room, which has a communal table, as well as its patio area.
In the meantime, Kim continues to acquaint the community with his products.
“People around here are open-minded and want to change things,” he says. “We’ll get there.”
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