Mossman butcher back in business
MOSSMAN MEATS
Mossman Meats officially opened its doors today in the historic Mossman Butchering Company building with new owners Shane Townsend and Bruce Burns raring to go.
Mr Townsend said since taking over last Monday, they have had dozens of people knocking at their door asking when it will open.
“It is finally ready,” he said.
“We have been getting ourselves organised and we re-painted the place.
“We still have a lot we want to do to the place, but we have to get the doors open and get the community back in.”
The new ownership comes after the sudden closure last month of Mossman Butchering Company, which previously occupied the Junction street store which left Mossman without a butchery.
“We are starting fresh, we are changing things around, we are different people and we want to do our own thing,” Mr Townsend said.
Mr Townsend, who has been butchering since he was 18, had been running a meat works in the Northern Territory for the last 10 years before he got a call from close friend, Mr Burns, who is from Mareeba, about a vacant store in Mossman.
“I have always been looking to get into a butcher shop but never came across the right one.
“I had heard how beautiful it is up here and how tight-knit the community is, so I thought it was the right time and place. I had a good friend to go into partnership with, so I thought why not?” Mr Townsend said.
Opening specials and order deliveries to surrounding areas, including to Port Douglas, are the first things customers can expect, with future improvements on the horizon.
“We would like to update the cases and are looking at putting some kind of deli in.
“We also want to do runs up to Cooktown. We have a ute with a freezer, so we can transfer meat because there are a lot of shops up there who can’t get any fresh meat,” Mr Townsend said.
Mossman Meats is also planning to cover the walls and front windows with historic photos of the butchery from over its near 100-year-history.
“It is an old butchery and it’s exciting as many people may know the people in the old photos,” he said.
Mossman Meats also announced on Saturdays they will donate $100 worth of sausages to local clubs and organisations for a community fundraising sausage sizzle, organised by John Carney, the owner of the building.
“Every Saturday they can sell sausages next to the shop and anything they make they can put back into their clubs,” Mr Townsend said.
“We have six weeks booked up already between organisations such as the fishing, footy, and cricket clubs.
“If you support the local community, they will support you back so we want to do everything we can to help.
“We are keen to be here for a while and want to be part of the community,” he said.
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