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Photo courtesy of Lehigh Financial Group
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania _ Partners Scott Carey of Easton and Mike Schnalzer of Slate Belt Butchery LLC in Saylorsburg have purchased Hartman’s Butcher Shop off of Route 309 in New Tripoli and plan to reopen it this fall after completing some work. The 6,000-square-foot butcher shop closed in early July 2021 when its owner, Dennis Hartman, retired.
The buyers are renaming the retail shop, located at 7291 Autumn Road, Carey and Schnalzer Quality Meats. They will continue processing their wholesale meat business under Slate Belt Butchery. They acquired the real estate, which included butchering equipment and smokehouse, along with some of Hartman’s secret recipes.
Jeff Barber of Lehigh Financial Group LLC in Allentown arranged the SBA loan for the partners to buy the property and make some improvements to it. Barber said he is excited for both partners and was happy to help them expand their business. “I enjoyed working and learning what goes into the butchery business,” Barber said.
The butcher shop, with its iconic statute of a pig looking out on the road, had been in the Hartman family for three generations. It was started in 1940 by Hartman’s grandfather.
“We bought a turnkey operation, but we plan to make it our own,” Carey said. Carey and Schnalzer will offer some of the sausages and other meat items that Hartman’s was known for as well as some of its own recipes.
When Carey learned the business was for sale, “it was a no-brainer” to pursue it, he said. Carey, who had always wanted to “start my own thing,” is confident it will do well as it has a loyal customer base and is well-known in the area.
Carey had worked in corporate marketing but was unhappy. He decided to pursue a career in something he enjoyed and followed his love of cooking and smoking meats to be trained in butchery. Schnalzer had been his boss at the butcher shop where Carey worked and they became and remained good friends.
Carey said the demand for “this business is sky high” and that word spread quickly among those who work in it when Hartman’s was for sale. Carey said Barber walked him and Schnalzer through the process and helped them to acquire the financing they needed to complete the deal.
They hope to reopen the shop by September and perhaps have a soft opening in August.
Lehigh Financial Group, LLC is a leading source of innovative real estate capital solutions and financing options for commercial customers. The company, based in Allentown, serves the Lehigh Valley region and beyond by providing capital for businesses and investors locally, regionally and nationwide. For more information on Lehigh Financial Group LLC, please see our website at http://www.lehighfinancialgroup.com.
Information and images provided to TVL by:
Beth W. Orenstein
