Cleaver & Co. Locks Its Doors

Sad news today for fans of Cleaver & Co. The whole-animal butcher shop has closed its doors. According to a report by Todd Price, the food truck continues to operate.

Cleaver & Co. was opened in 2012 by Seth Hamstead and Simone Reggie. Reggie left the business to work for Good Eggs, which shut down its New Orleans hub in 2015. Staying in the grocery business, Reggie recently opened Simone’s Market on Oak Street. Cleaver & Co. alum Kristopher Doll left the shop to open his own meat operation, Shank Charcuterie.

Over the years, the little butcher shop had added classes (How to Butcher a Whole Hog!) and a menu. Notably, Cleaver & Co. ushered in a trend toward the smaller, neighborhood, specialty grocers that had been common in New Orleans before large grocery stores became the norm.

In 2015, Hamstead sold Cleaver & Co. to Nathaniel Wallace and Daniel Sinclair, who raise Japanese-style wagyu beef on the North Shore.