Village Butcher’s new owners energized by community

Alex and Cristy Beram, new owners of The Village Butcher in Woodstock, Vt., are reopening the shop later this month. They are pictured here, at center, with their children, Beau, 7, and Rosie, 9, and Cristy’s mother, Bebe Stoddard. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

More than once, Alex and Cristy Beram had thought about moving full-time to Vermont — maybe when their kids were grown. But the plan unfolded a bit quicker than that.

Now, the Berams are Vermont business owners, and they’re set to reopen The Village Butcher in Woodstock later this month. They purchased it earlier this year from George and Linda Racicot, who had owned the community’s sole butcher shop for close to 50 years. Josh Coyle, who has worked there for over 20 years, is staying on as head butcher. 

It didn’t take the Berams long to find out how much the community cherishes this place and its longtime owners. In fact, it’s given them great motivation as they work toward the reopening. 

“The support from the community has been a huge source of energy for us,” Alex said. “We feel a huge sense of purpose in what we’re doing.” 

Cristy remembered many warm welcomes inside and outside the shop, when they were learning about the business and first getting to know customers.

“It couldn’t have made us more excited to come,” she said. “Once we made the decision, so many things started falling into place that made us feel comfortable this was the right choice.” 

“Things really clicked,” Alex said, noting some great discussions with the building’s owners, Jireh and Frank Billings.

Moving forward, the core elements of the Racicots’ longtime business — butcher, deli and marketplace — will still be there.

“It felt more right to build upon the foundation that’s here,” Alex said. 

The Berams’ path to living full-time in Quechee began in spring 2020. At the time, both of their young children — now 9 and 7 — were attending school remotely, and springtime in Vermont was beckoning. So, they left Boston in May to finish out the school year at their second home in Quechee, and stay there for the summer as usual. They stayed past summer, as they weren’t comfortable returning to the city amid the pandemic. Then, in October, Alex was laid off from his job in international professional services, and the couple began looking around and weighing their options. 

Not long after that, an online advertisement for a “butcher-deli” in a great Vermont location caught Alex’s attention. For him, that would be a return to the food industry. He worked in various settings in the food service industry throughout his teens and 20s in Boston, where he grew up. 

“I love the interaction with the community, being around people, and the camaraderie with the team,” Alex said. 

He also spent a number of years in the music industry, touring and playing trombone full-time, as well as working in artist management. Cristy has an MBA and a background in financial services, and previously worked for Fidelity Investments.

Over the past two months, interior work has been ongoing at the Village Butcher. Upland Construction, of Woodstock, was the general contractor for the project, and the Middlebury firm IMHOTEP was also involved. 

The main additions include a full kitchen on the bottom floor. That helps facilitate two key parts of the plan: adding more prepared foods and baked goods to the shop’s offerings. The bakery operation will be run by Cristy’s mother, Bebe Stoddard.

Additionally, there’s been a reconfiguration upstairs, which moved the butcher-deli station.

“The butcher when you walk in is straight ahead,” Alex said. “We really wanted to feature that.” 

The shop will also offer a wider variety of local meats, and Alex and Josh have been visiting local farmers to make those arrangements. 

Along with those changes, the shop will have its own blend of coffee for the first time. One of the employees, Vicky Cook, will provide a special “Butcher’s Blend” through her business, Rooftop Roasters, for the shop to pour and sell.

The Village Butcher’s new owners can’t wait to get the doors open again, and carry forward what the Racicots have built over the years.

“We're really excited for people to see what we’ve done,” Cristy said.

— Gareth Henderson