The Famous Fleisher’s Butcher Will Hit the Slope

Slopers, ask and ye shall receive.

In response to columnist Louise Crawford’s March story about what , many of you responded that you’d love a great butcher.

Those of you craving an expertly carved slice of rib eye or lamp chop are in luck: yesterday, none other than popular upstate butcher shop Fleisher’s Grass-fed and Organic Meats announced its plans to open a Slope store in the fall (owner Jessica Applestone said she even used the Patch article to help attract investors).

The store is slated to open on September 1, right across from Bierkraft at 192 Fifth Avenue.

Owner Jessica Applestone, who runs Fleisher's with her husband Josh, said that the Slope store will be much like the upstate locale, selling varied cuts of meat, alongside other items like rotisserie chicken, charcuterie and local cheeses. For all the busy city folk, the shop will offer up a bigger selection of frozen entrees like Sheppard’s pie and chili. Like the upstate location, there will also be a play area for kids and stroller parking.

Eventually, there will be classes as well.

“Park Slope is the perfect demographic for us,” said Applestone. “People are so concerned with what they eat, how they eat and how they live. People cook and interested in trying new things. There’s a great food culture, which I love.”

Fleisher’s first got its start in 2004, when Applestone, then a meat-loving vegetarian, decided that she wanted to give being an omnivore another try, without giving up on her principles.

So she and her husband learned to butcher, and opened up a butcher shop in Kingston, New York that focused on selling only organic, sustainably raised meats. The shop cuts all its meat itself, and sources from only a handful of local farms that they’ve deemed the best.

Applestone said that in a way, they’re bringing Fleischer’s back to Brooklyn; the original Fleisher's Meats, founded by Josh Applestone’s grandfather, Wolf Fleisher, was located in Kensington.

“We are really excited,” said Applestone. “The response has been so overwhelming. We just know it’s the right decision.”