Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

When you hear the word “butcher,” different versions of the same basic image probably pops into most people’s heads: a middle-aged to older man with an apron swinging around a big cleaver.

But Hillsboro Food Company has the answer to squelching those preconceived notions.

Gavin Bales, the 23-year-old butcher at the café and grocery store, may not look like what you think of when you think of a butcher. In fact, he says that he’s had some surprised reactions when he comes out from the back of the store.

“People ask for the butcher and I come out and they’re like ‘Oh, well I expected somebody that’s tatted up and burly,’ and I’m like ‘No, but you get what you get,’” he said.

Despite his youthful appearance, Bales actually has nearly a decade’s worth of experience in the meat department.

He started at Hillsboro Food Co. under previous ownership when he was 15 and looking for a part-time job. The store was close to his house and convenient, so he applied and got the job.

“It’s been fun,” noted Bales. “It’s something that not everybody knows how to do, and it’s something I take pride in doing for sure.”

His experience started with cutting various meat parts before eventually becoming a full-fledged butcher where his duties include special orders, stocking the meat case daily and answering questions from customers, a lot of whom have become regulars who appreciate his knowledge.

“When they come in, I know exactly what they want, and then it goes from there.”

Hillsboro owner Brandon Tomberlin says that Bales has developed great relationships with customers who know him personally at this point.

“They’ll come in and ask for a certain cut of meat and go to Gavin if they want a certain thickness or want it trimmed a certain way and he knows them by name and he builds great relationships and we’re just super proud of what he’s doing,” he said.

“Just the fact that I know they’re getting a high-quality grade product; that’s the main thing,” noted Bales. “A lot of people come in here and say it’s the best chicken they’ve had and the best pork and the best this and that. It’s great to hear their feedback as far as that goes.”

Tomberlin describes Bales as a “great asset” to Hillsboro Food Company and says that he’s learned a lot from the butcher.

“He’s taught me so much,” noted Tomberlin. “We have to attribute our success in our meat department to his knowledge and attention to detail. He’s just encouraging and wanting to learn new stuff.”

Bales has even started posting videos of himself butchering various cuts of meat on the Hillsboro Food Company Facebook page to teach people about meat which Tomberlin explains is great for the establishment.

“He’s been wanting to put these videos out that he’s been putting out which is good for us,” he said. “We enjoy any chance we can to get our name out there.”

“I’m going to start doing a lot more of those,” said Bales. “We’ve had great feedback on it, and I’ll start doing different cuts and teaching people what I know and go from there. They seem to love it.”

Tomberlin says that it’s “amazing” what Bales knows considering how young he is. But he emphasized that Bales’ duties extend beyond just cutting.

“He does the orders for the meats, and he does the inventory for the meats. He assesses the case every day when he comes in and knows what he needs to cut that day,” listed Tomberlin. “The meat market changes daily so he’s always staying in tune with price changes and whether we can reduce stuff and help our customers or whether we’re gonna have to make adjustments with the market. He’s definitely an asset to us.”

A lot of what Bales knows, he’s learned from watching videos of other people. He named the chuck roll as his favorite thing to cut due to its versatility.

“There’s a lot of stuff you can get out of it, and it’s something that a lot of people cut differently I’ve noticed watching videos,” he said. “It’s really nice. You get a nice amount of steaks out of it and roast and ground beef. It’s really neat learning the different ways that people cut it.”

Other than the premade assumptions about what a butcher should look like, Bales says another misconception people have is what he’s working with in the cutting room.

“A lot of people think that I have an entire cow in the back, and I’m cutting off a whole cow,” he said. “It’s not like that. We just get sent portions of meat and then we cut from them. That confuses a lot of people.”

Bales says he’s considering enrolling in school but hasn’t been able to figure out what he would want to study.

“That’s the hardest part, trying to figure out what to do and getting set on that,” he admitted.

In the meantime, he’s happy to stay at Hillsboro.

“Everybody’s great,” Bales explained. “It’s just a nice family-owned business. You can’t ask for anything better as far as that. They treat me as good as anybody could. It’s all great.”