NORFOLK, Va. — Dylan Wakefield says he and his family traveled and moved around often. When they finally settled in Norfolk, they noticed the city needed a family butcher shop. So, in 2013, they got to work.
They bought a home on Shirley Avenue that still looks and feels like a home, but they turned it into a business.
That's when Pendulum Fine Meats was born.
"We're one of the only whole animal butcher shops around here," he said. "We get whole animals in, and we cut them into retail cuts for the customer."
Most animals come from local farmers in Virginia and North Carolina.
"We make a lot of our own products, so we make a lot of sausage, bacon and ham and things like that too," Wakefield continued.
You can come in and grab your meat for dinner, or maybe just come in and grab a quick lunch!
"We also make sandwiches," he smiled as he pointed back at the menu.
Wakefield told 13News that they make most of their bread in-house too.
He claimed their lunch menu is small, but they have top-sellers.
"Our roast beef sandwiches, we make a ton of those. And our burgers, that's what mostly probably bring people in," he said.
They also cater, and you can order things like charcuterie boards too.
"We are definitely multifaceted enough to where it pleases a broad range of people," he said.
"When we started, we found this building, and it was a bigger space than what we originally envisioned. And a lot of it was like, we just need to fill things in," he said.
So, they got to work filling the home with their wholesale side of the building.
You can come in and buy spices, pasta, sauces, olive oil and more.
"We try to just find things that really pair well with meat or lunch," Wakefield said.
The best pairings they offer? Their wine and beer selection. It's pretty big for a small business.
"We have certain customers that come here only as a wine store. And they don't even ever order a sandwich or anything like that. Or we have certain people that have only come to the butcher counter and have never ordered a sandwich. And then we have certain people that have only ordered sandwiches and never bought a steak," Wakefield said and laughed.
So whatever you're craving or wanting for lunch or dinner, Pendulum Fine Meats hopes to become a one-stop shop for you.
"Your diet and the way that you live is on a pendulum, especially the food that you eat. That's kind of representative of what we are and what we want to do," Wakefield smiled.
Pendulum Fine Meats is located at 820 Shirley Avenue in Norfolk.