August ‘25

So I know a little something about Weird Al Yankovic. 1) After the "Leaving Neverland" documentary, he no longer performs his Michael Jackson parodies. 2) He also will not write a parody without permission from the original author. So, he will not make new parodies if the original musician has passed away. The first point I found out to my great disappointment when I went to see him play Red Rocks 6 years ago. The second point I found out because I was tweeting him my lyrical parody of David Bowie's "Changes", called "Cheeses"

ch..ch..cheeses

Time to bake the brie

ch..ch.. cheeses

Don't want to be a feta man

ch..ch..cheeses

Camembert for me

ch..ch..cheeses

no more stilton or edam

Time can age cheese,

but I bake with thyme

I won't beleaguer you with the awkward rhythm patterns and almost rhyme schemes I wrote, but just know that they exist and the song is about a man coming to terms with stinky, aged, blue cheeses and forgoing his ricotta origins.

I'll have to keep the letter short this month. I have a 3 year old's blood on my shirt and a Devil Dog tempting me from the corner of the table. I don't have much time.

(The first rule of satanic rituals is... well, you know the rest.)

I wanted to update you about some of the changes we're making at the shop. We've always been a whole animal butcher shop. That comes with a lot of challenges, specifically, there's a lot of things on a cow that aren't ribeyes or N.Y. strips. We have to find uses for the bones, fat, and all the parts that don't sell through the case. Because I used to be a chef, using up all of those isn't necessarily an issue. However, with the ban on imports from Mexico (due to the screw worm) and the shortages and price increases in all of my supplies (due to Donnie's pointless trade war) keeping the prices down for the cheaper cuts and the specialty products we make has become unmanageable. I've been exploring options to maintain the value you get from our services without sacrificing the quality. I believe I've found that solution.

We have always supplemented our Running Creek Ranch, Limosin beef with Angus beef. I don't know if you're aware, but y'all eat more ribeyes than top round. Don't feel bad, you're not alone. And with the way prices are going, we will be keeping the angus beef in the case full time and supplementing it with the Limosin. I know that doesn't mean much to you, but it allows us to have a more consistent product with a price that's less volatile. I've had to raise prices twice in the last 4 months, when before I only did it once a year to adjust for general inflation. So this move helps us keep our prices stable. That is our primary objective. It does allow us another opportunity. We will be bringing in some Limosin beef every other week. I still want to offer half and quarter packages, but if we don't have any on order, we will be putting more of our Limosin beef in the dry aging cooler. We can offer more dry aged beef with greater consistency, more often.

On top of this I will be bringing in more pork. Right now we're selling out in about 2-3 days. It's half the price of the beef and it's also the best pork I've ever had in my life, so I'm super happy that you all figured it out! This also allows us to expand our sausage program. Our sausage program is one of the parts of the shop that I've always had a special affinity for. I love the old world sausages (trying to replicate traditions and create those nostalgic feelings through your food) but also being weird and creative with new flavors (see the sausage of the month this month).

So those are the big cheeses…sorry, changes happening right now. I wanted to keep you updated because food prices are a concern for everyone right now and I would rather be honest about what I'm doing and why so you can make the best choices for your family.

Something else I know: David Bowie used to live off a diet of milk and red bell peppers... so... yeah. I bet his microphone smelled great.

Cheers from the Big Cheese

Friendly Nick