Special Advertising Section
You could say Lancaster County is turning a new “page” in hand-crafted, Old World-style butchering. Tony and Kristina Page founded Rooster Street Butcher & Handcrafted Charcuterie in 2012, inspired by a trip to Paris.
“It was a turning point in life,” Kristina explains. “We discovered a butcher shop behind Notre Dame and loved it…the shop had roosters in the windows!” The couple, experienced in the restaurant industry and armed with Tony’s culinary degree and Kristina’s communications design degree, decided to “marry” their skills.
Based in Lititz, with a stand at Lancaster Central Market as well, Rooster Street is a full-service butcher shop offering fresh cuts of a variety of meats, along with fresh sausages, cured meats, pates, bacons, hams and more which are known as charcuterie—the French art of prepared meats. The shop also carries a selection of artisan cheeses, bread and lots of accouterments.
Tony says although he has culinary training and more than a dozen years’ experience in restaurant kitchens, he is primarily a self-taught butcher. All of Rooster Street’s meats come from whole animals that are humanely raised, without antibiotics or hormones. “It’s something customers appreciate and expect,” he says. “I find a lot of motivation from remembering where the meat comes from—I honor it.”
“Thinking about the whole circle of life, especially here in Lancaster County where we see farms around us—people want to be healthier, to know what their options are and complete that circle,” Kristina explains.
Rooster Street’s specialty is Old World-style, aged meats such as prosciutto and salami—“That’s what sets us apart from other shops,” Kristina claims. A duck liver mousse is her personal favorite; meanwhile, Tony’s pick is lamb Merguez sausage—“a Moroccan-style sausage with lots of spices.”
While Tony develops all of the products, Kristina manages displays and the front of house, including the shop’s 25-seat BYOB dining room. A café-style menu of soups, salads and sandwiches highlights the house-made meats; “The Rooster” is a spicy fried chicken sandwich topped with cabbage, an herb buttermilk dressing and sweet pickles.
The Pages say customers can taste the farm-fresh quality in their handcrafted products. “We have a saying—a happy pig is a tasty pig,” Kristina laughs.
Rooster Street Butcher | 11 South Cedar Street | Lititz, PA 17543 www.roosterst.com | 717-625-0405 Back to The Faces of the Susquehanna Valley