Moriarty Meats & Cafe Expands Its Whole Animal Butchery Business with SBA Support

With an SBA loan, a Buffalo-based butcher shop and cafe expanded operations and created jobs in their community.

Moriarty Meats & Cafe, a whole animal butcher shop and cafe in Buffalo, New York, was founded in 2018 by a husband-and-wife team with the goal of working directly with farmers to bring meat sourced locally directly to their community. What began as a one-day-a-week shop has since grown into a full-time operation serving their loyal customers.

Start with a mission

When the owners met in 2012, the idea for the business came together quickly. Tom had recently returned from butchery school in France, and early on they started talking about building something of their own.

By 2018, they opened their first shop while both still working full time, operating just one day a week. It quickly became clear they were building something unique that kept customers coming back.

"I think it really goes back to the response we were getting from people. People were so excited, people were so open to learning, and it just seemed like we were really connecting with the community." - Caitlin Moriarty, Co-Owner of Moriarty Meats & Cafe

From the beginning, Moriarty Meats & Cafe took a different approach than traditional butcher shops. They work with whole animals sourced from local farms, which requires more labor, more training, and a deeper level of customer engagement.

"It's a completely different business model. You're working with what is on the animal, and there's a lot of variety of cuts that people are not used to seeing. We've always premised our business on real conversations with people about what they're looking to cook and how we can help." - Caitlin Moriarty, Co-Owner of Moriarty Meats & Cafe

Expanding operations with access to capital through SBA

As the business grew and both owners transitioned to working on it full time, their original space became too small, and an opportunity arose to purchase a larger building.

They connected with Bank on Buffalo and were introduced to SBA. Through SBA’s 504 loan program, they were able to acquire the building in 2019 and begin a full renovation to support both their butcher shop and future cafe. They sold their house and lived upstairs from the shop to make it work. 

"I think owning the building has been instrumental to our success. We would not have been able to do it without that 504 loan." - Caitlin Moriarty, Co-Owner of Moriarty Meats & Cafe

The SBA loan made it possible for them to purchase and renovate the building, giving them the space to continue growing the business and support their family.

Results of SBA support

Since acquiring the building, Moriarty Meats & Cafe has continued to grow. What started with processing smaller quantities has become a much larger operation, now bringing in a full cow each week along with multiple pigs and lambs. They have expanded their offerings to include sausages and deli meats and opened a cafe in 2021.

The business has also grown from the two owners to a team of roughly 15 employees. As they've grown, they've also helped local farmers expand their businesses.

Future growth

Looking ahead, the team is focused on expanding into an adjacent space to offer prepared food options.

They are most proud of the relationships they've built with their customers and community over time. Moriarty Meats & Cafe has become a place where people connect, learn, and return regularly.

Learn more about SBA's 504 loan program and how it can help you build or expand your business.