A neighborhood butcher shop in Cumberland County that carved a niche with local, sustainable meats is closing.
Smoke & Pickles Artisan Butcher Shop owner David T. Mills III announced on Sunday the Mechanicsburg shop and restaurant is permanently closing on Nov. 23
“After spending the past year living in PA while my wife has lived in another state for her career, we have made the difficult decision to close Smoke & Pickles Artisan Butcher Shop,” he wrote on a Facebook post.
Mills opened the shop in 2018 at 30 S. Market St. in the former The Wicked Kitchen restaurant. His business combines a full-service butcher shop with 35-seat American barbecue restaurant. Mills brings in whole animals and breaks them down into cuts – roasts, steaks, chops and ground meats.
The culinary arts instructor at Harrisburg Area Community College was inspired to open the shop after traveling with a student group to Panzano in Chianti, where they met internationally-known butcher Dario Cecchini. The eighth-generation butcher has followed a “nose-to-tail” philosophy well before it was in vogue.
Smoke & Pickles serves pulled pork, “Charc Attack” charcuterie platter and a dark meat chicken sandwich called the Screaming Eagle made with spicy deep-fried chicken and sweet and spicy sauce, among other dishes.
In the letter, Mills said he will be moving out of state to be with his wife, Kelli, and likened running the shop to an “adventure of a lifetime.”
Mills said he is helping employees find other jobs. In addition, Smoke & Pickles will continue to accept gift cards through the closing date and fulfill obligations for catered and food truck events, classes and Thanksgiving turkey orders.
Mills thanked customers, employees and the community for their support.
“You all made Smoke & Pickles Artisan Butcher Shop a success and without all of you, none of this would have been possible,” he said.
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