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Of butchers, bankers and candlestick makers

By Matthew Lysiak
for The Brooklyn Paper
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The Brooklyn Paper / Craig Dilger
Butcher Anthony Perricone of Frank and Eddie’s is looking for a butcher — but where can you find one nowadays?

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Good help is hard to find — especially when you own a butcher shop.

The owners of Frank and Eddie’s, a popular meat market at 7502 Third Ave., found that out after putting a “Butcher Wanted” sign in the window and getting very few applicants.

Finding a trained professional is apparently about as easy as finding good ribs in Bay Ridge now that Griswold’s is closed.

“In the 1960s, there used to be a butcher on every block, but today there is only a handful,” said manager Anthony Perricone. “Today, people don’t cook as much and are on the go.”

The good news is that Perricone — who started as a delivery boy at age 12 and now runs the deli that bares his uncle’s names — thinks he’s found the secret of survival in the era of the big supermarket: diversify.

“You have to provide some ready-made meals and catering to keep with the times,” Perricone said.

But having some old-fashioned custom cuts doesn’t hurt sales either.

“I get my meats here because I trust their meat,” said longtime customer Angela Hattersly. “And the grocery story doesn’t de-bone the chicken for me.”

Perricone would love to pass down his smock — and his skills — to a future generation of butchers, but he’s not sure such a thing will exist when he’s ready to hang up the boning knife.

“In 25 years I don’t think there will be any real butchers left in Bay Ridge,” Perricone said. “Except for Frankie and Eddie’s of course. We aren’t about to become another bank.”

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

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