Ibrahim Hodroj said his journey into the butchery business started at home.
The professional chef said he would go to a restaurant-quality supplier during the pandemic, cooking that meat at home. When friends started questioning where he got meat that good, he said he began to research and understand the difficulties others could have finding higher-quality meat.
“There’s a lot of fakenesses out there. We wanted a place where we can educate people on what good meat is,” he said. “What’s behind all this (is) pure passion, fun, good food.”
Along with three business partners, he soft-opened the Butcher Boutique at 192 Main St. S. June 21. The new butchery offers a range of meats from all over the world, aiming to be more authentic than foreign meats at chain stores.
The business originally opened in Markham. But fellow co-owner Aaron Sau said they got plenty of traffic from Newmarket and decided to expand here.
“Newmarket is just a great hub,” he said. “We’ve heard from lots and lots of customers that this is what Main Street needs.”
Hodroj said he studied as a mechanical engineer in England and spent years in the field. But after working a university job at a small pizzeria, he eventually returned there and purchased it from a retiring owner.
That led to him expanding the restaurant and a professional career in the culinary world. He would eventually sell and come to Canada, where he would meet business partner Mike Berlanguet working at Ruth Chris's Steak House.
The two quickly hit it off, they said.
“It’s just one of those relationships we can almost finish each other sentences. We clicked, we kind of got it from day one,” Berlanguet, who also spent years in the culinary sector, said.
They decided to make a career-changing venture into full-time butchery as pandemic restrictions lifted.
“I’m 55, and it’s like, ‘Geez, what’s next,’” Berlanguet said, adding the early success of their Markham store convinced him. “If I don’t do it now, I never will.”
Rather than coming into the culinary sector, Sau said he decided to partner as a foodie.
"I enjoy food from all sorts of places. I can appreciate really well, premium-graded food, and this is basically it," he said.
The four business partners, also including Wilfred Yu, said they hope to continue expanding into new locations over time.
Hodroj said they are also exploring recipe cards showcase how to best prepare the high-quality meat they offer.
“If you want restaurant-quality beef from an honest butcher, come over, let us meat you,” he said.
