Founded in 1989, Tolland, Conn.-based The Country Butcher has grown from a local shop into a nationally recognized artisan meat processor and retail butcher shop. The business has earned more than 100 regional and national awards, most recently securing a Grand Champion title for its Sausage, Peppers and Onion Patty at the 2025 American Cured Meat Championships in the experimental fresh class: Fresh Gourmet/Flavored Patty, among many other 2025 ACMC awards.

To further explore The Country Butcher’s founding, guiding mission and continuing success, The National Provisioner spoke with Stephen Boyer, president and owner of The Country Butcher.

Boyer grew up on a small farm in New England, and as time went on, the family began processing more animals for neighbors. This eventually led Boyer and his father to build a mobile slaughtering unit, bringing their expertise door to door, or rather, farm to farm.

Boyer continued to hone his craft and expertise, modernizing his operations and pursuing deep industry education. "Sometimes it was classes like at UConn or Penn State. They would have short courses, so I would take those to learn," he said.

Boyer also worked in a local slaughterhouse, refining his expertise and eventually growing his knowledge. "I went from the kill floor to the processing area where we used to bone beef and do retail cuts," he said. "And then I went into the sausage kitchen and worked in there. Then I worked on deliveries."

By working in each segment of the business, Boyer showcased his love for the meat industry. "They loved my passion to learn the business, and I had a passion to learn and how to do it correctly."

After a few years, Boyer branched out to work at retail, eventually opening his own retail store: The Country Butcher. "As I worked in other places, I always worked at night in my own shop," Boyer said. "I would work during the day and then come home at night. On the weekends, we would do any custom slaughtering that had to get done and then bring them to our shop. Then I would process them in the evenings."

Boyer opened his own store in 1989, a business built on passion for the meat industry and a love for learning. Originally based in Ellington, Conn., The Country Butcher moved to its current operations at Spring Meadow Farm in Tolland, Conn., in 2007.

The Country Butcher has always been deeply rooted in its local community. Though the small town of Tolland was not quite ready for Boyer’s business back in 1989, the town had enough housing and modernization to support the business in the early 2000s, leading the family to transition its operations.

As a Christian-run business, The Country Butcher places faith at the center of its business philosophy, especially guiding employee relations and customer service.

Strong customer service is key to The Country Butcher. "And we see it, especially since COVID, that people are so appreciative because when we wait on them, we take the time to really give extremely high-quality customer service," Boyer said.

Customer experience goes far beyond how employees engage with customers; brick-and-mortars themselves can make or break how the customer feels while shopping in the store. With its move to Tolland, The Country Butcher has been able to uniquely customize its operations, emphasizing a comfortable environment. "The inside of our shop is decorated with a lot of antique farm and meat equipment. We have porches that go around with rocking chairs in the front for the customers," Boyer noted. "It's very welcoming."

The Country Butcher combines its high-quality, attentive customer service with extremely knowledgeable staff. "We love to hand out recipes all the time and give people tips and ideas ... and we found that that's been a huge help because people appreciate learning something, appreciate learning how to cook a cut of meat or sausage correctly, and it enhances the quality of their meal that they're going to have too," Boyer said. "We want everything to be as positive as it can be."

Local pride is a key component of The Country Butcher’s philosophy, supporting marathons, the local high school, Boy Scouts and more. "Personally, we do a lot with local soup kitchens and donate a lot of meat to help them get through tough times," Boyer noted. "There's a Northwest Food Bank, and we do a lot of donations with that and different soup kitchens in the area, just to try to help out."

Boyer is grateful to the PAMP, The Country Butcher’s local state affiliation. "My parents always taught us that if you take something from an organization, you have to give back," he said.

When it comes to The Country Butcher’s award-winning meat products, Boyer cites quality and attention to detail as key aspects of his innovations.

At the regional Cured Meat Championships, The Country Butcher secured 20 awards mostly consisting of Grand Champions and Reserve Grand Champions, going on to win six awards nationally at the 2025 American Cured Meat Championships.

Driven by a love of giving back and learning from like-minded processors, Boyer has served on the PAMP board for many years and served as association president in 2000. He has also served on the AAMP board.

Giving back is part of The Country Butcher’s deep roots in Christianity. Boyer credits all of his success to God. "I do have to give 100% credit to the Lord for blessing us and blessing our business," Boyer said. "He allows us to do what we love, and He allows us to be able to make a living at this."