Within less than a year, The Village Butcher has become a popular lunch spot for Modesto residents. Access Plus Capital helped Matt Soderstrom bring his vision of an all-encompassing butcher shop to life, bringing together local farmers and businesses from within a 50-mile radius to provide residents with high-quality goods.
“Neither of us had experience taking on a loan for a new business,” Matt said. “It was difficult to find someone willing to take on that risk. Fatima Seward, [my banker at BAC Community Bank in Modesto], suggested Access Plus Capital because of how supportive they are with new and unique businesses.”
Access Plus Capital staff helped The Village Butcher launch successfully – providing business expertise and knowledge, while Matt applied his previous butcher shop experience and innovative ideas.
“We are so happy to have helped Matt launch The Village Butcher,” said Ana Medina, Access Plus Capital’s Director of Business Development. “Part of our mission is to strengthen the communities we work within, and Matt is focused on that same goal.”
For The Village Butcher, choosing a local lender, like Access Plus Capital, was important in their efforts to keep money local. The butcher shop is known for its deli, restaurant, high-quality meat, seafood, and dog food, all of which use locally-sourced ingredients.
“We need to think about how many of our dollars stay local,” Matt said. “Whether the money goes to employee wages, Access Plus Capital, or ranchers, we want cash flow to stay local in all aspects – so we are investing in the community rather than a large corporation.”
With a startup loan paying for his renovation costs, equipment purchases, working capital, Matt has been able to focus on growing his business by expanding his catering selection and hiring more staff. When The Village Butcher opened in May 2019, they started with a skeleton crew of five employees, but they have now doubled that amount.
The Village Butcher Is Already Planning for Future Expansion
Hiring on more staff has allowed Matt to focus on future expansion plans and customer education. The Village Butcher’s open floor plan allows customers to see how their meats are prepared and get a better understanding of where their food comes from, as soon as they step in the door. Meats are also labelled with tags from their original farm and city.
Soon, Matt hopes to take his customers’ education a step further. The Village Butcher plans to offer culinary cooking classes at the beginning of 2020.
“I see the void of culinary education in Modesto, and I think we have an opportunity to offer that at our shop,” Matt said. “With education, we can train and teach people how to use a whole animal for cooking.”
The Village Butcher has been in business less than a year, but it is already creating jobs, educating its customers, and highlighting the Central Valley’s agricultural assets.
Learn more about how your business could take flight, with an Access Plus Capital Startup Loan.