‘South Avenue Butcher’ Appears To Have Closed

South Avenue Butcher in downtown New Canaan appears to have closed. 

Open since December 2016, the butcher shop at 17 South Ave. hasn’t opened in several days and is empty. Phone and email inquiries went unanswered for more than two business days. In its most recent Facebook page update, posted two weeks ago, the business said it was looking for full- and part-time staff. It hasn’t posted on Instagram since publishing a schedule for the Easter holiday.

‘We Are Supporting Each Other’: New Canaan Merchants Keep Business in Town

When walking down Elm Street on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it is more than likely that one will hear a couple visitors from New York City or beyond lament that New Canaan seems to be ripped from an episode of “Gilmore Girls.” Indeed, this town offers many of the same surface qualities as the fictional Star’s Hollow, with a beautiful downtown and quirky residents and business owners. The similarities go deeper, however; on the show, it is not uncommon to see Luke, the owner of the local diner, cross the street to buy supplies from Doosey’s Market. It’s a perfect illustration of local charm; these two small businesses support each other while also contributing to the integrity of the town. If it seems too good to be happening in real life, it’s not, and businesses right here in New Canaan are using the same model.

PHOTOS: South Avenue Butcher Opens in Downtown New Canaan

After many months of planning and a full renovation, the widely anticipated South Avenue Butcher shop has opened for business in downtown New Canaan. Brainchild of three Ireland-born friends who now reside in Darien, the new shop features a wide selection of beef, pork and veal cuts, as well as sweet and hot Italian sausages, bratwurst and bacon-and-cheddar sausage. “We’ve felt warmly welcomed in New Canaan and we’re very excited to open and start serving this community,” Alan Griffin, who opened the shop with friends Dermot Flynn and James Farrell, told NewCanaanite.com from the cozy space at 17 South Ave. on Monday afternoon. The trio developed the concept of South Avenue Butcher during a nostalgic chat at a bar—asked which bar, Flynn said with a smile, “We tend to float around”—and what they created is a direct nod to a shared farming heritage of rural hometowns in the south of Ireland.

Pasture-Fed Meat and Poultry, Homemade Sausages: ‘South Avenue Butcher’ To Open Dec. 10

The new butcher shop planned for South Avenue in New Canaan is on track for a Dec. 10 opening, officials said. South Avenue Butcher (here on Facebook) will offer homemade sausage and prime cut meats, according to Michael Hutten. A Holland-born butcher of 30 years experience, Hutten said the shop will offer a rotation of sausages that includes bratwurst, weisswurst and bockwurst as well as traditional Italian and Irish sausages. “We can get you anything you like,” Hutten said on a recent afternoon outside the new shop at 17 South Ave.