Meat Your Maker, Beef Country Butcher Shop
Question: What tiny neighborhood butcher shop on a busy thoroughfare in Port Charlotte draws visitors from Naples to Orlando and everywhere in between?
Answer: the South African one.
Beef Country has an extremely loyal contingent of South African customers (including myself and my brother, Gordon) thanks to owner Amore Scheepers’ dedication to providing a taste of home to her fellow immigrants. While it’s true that the majority of out-of-town visitors are South African, what they call the busiest little butcher shop in the South is mostly filled with neighborhood regulars who have come to depend on the variety and quality of meats and prepared foods available for sale and the fascinating British and South African imported wines, candies, and snacks arrayed on the shelves in the center of the shop. Amore also carries Amish products, because she appreciates the “wholesome” way in which they are prepared. I visited on a Tuesday afternoon determined to get some biltong (a dried, cured, meat snack native to South African countries that is difficult to resist and harder to find) and to scope out the space before chatting with Amore.
Amore Scheepers and her husband, Anton, both hail from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. They attended the same university and then moved together to Pretoria—one of South Africa’s three capital cities— before moving to Dallas, Texas, and, ultimately, settling in Port Charlotte. Anton works in Fort Lauderdale during the week and commutes home on the weekends, leaving Amore the room to dedicate herself to Beef Country. Amore employs two Italian butchers from New York and two butcher apprentices and she says along the way she’s learned quite a lot about the art of butchering.
She sources her Certified Angus beef and all-natural chicken and pork from the Midwest. She used to carry bison from a local farm but they have since closed and she’s on the hunt for a new supplier because “People love bison. I couldn’t keep it on the shelves.” Amore prides herself on the variety of meats on offer at Beef Country including alligator, duck, and rabbit as well as house-made sausages and prepared foods. The salads and sides are particularly popular including ham salad, chicken salad, and a “to die for” coleslaw from Amore’s own recipe. Beef Country aims to please and Amore says that you can even call them with your own specialty sausage recipe and they’ll be happy prepare it for you.
Curbside and online orders have increased due to COVID-19 but Amore has always been happy to accommodate requests. My brother ordered a few things for a holiday party and was unable to pick them up so I met Amore and her husband at a stop near the freeway in Sarasota as they were on their way to another destination.
Amore loves the feel of her small international butcher shop and really appreciates her customers for their continued support and, as the Dean Martin song for which she was named points out: That’s Amore!
Beef Country: 2320 Tamiami Trl, Port Charlotte; 941-629-6965; beef-country.com
