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By Christine Graf
What began as a hobby for former Dick’s Sporting Goods managers Aaron Schultz and Ken Wheeler has turned into a full-time profession.
The Saratoga County residents opened Saratoga Dry Aged Cuts on Aug. 6. Their 2,000-square-foot butcher shop is located in the Stewart’s plaza just off Northway Exit 11 in Ballston Lake.
Three years ago, Schultz, Wheeler, and two of their friends began dry aging beef as a hobby. Dry aging is a process by which large cuts of beef are aged over a long period of time, typically between 25 to 100 days. During this time, the meat hangs in a humidity-controlled environment that exposes all sides to proper airflow. The process is intended to allow the meat to develop a better flavor and make it more tender.
“We loved to cook and make food ourselves, and it was something we wanted to try because we had heard it brings a different level of taste to beef,” said Schultz. “It was a lot of personal research and a lot of trial and error.”
It took them more than two years to perfect their technique. As they became more involved in the process, they converted a portion of Wheeler’s basement into a full kitchen and added refrigeration space.
“That’s when we really went full steam with our hobby because more and more people heard about what we were doing and we started selling the beef to friends of ours and friends of theirs,” he said.
In the summer of 2019, Prime at Saratoga National became the first commercial customer. Schultz said the restaurant’s chef was so impressed with the beef that he began placing weekly orders. It was at that point that Schultz and Wheeler began seriously considering opening a retail store.
“We started looking for a location and then COVID happened,” said Schultz. “We put the brakes on everything because there were so many uncertainties. We waited another 14 months before we started looking again.”
Wheeler and Shultz have been working 70-80 hour weeks to get the shop up and running and have a staff of four part-time employees.
Wheeler does most of the meat cutting and is the dry aging expert, while Shultz focuses heavily on the food prep aspect of the business. He has an extensive background in the restaurant industry and prepares the various deli and pasta salads that are available for sale at the store.
He also makes all of the dry rubs and marinades.
In addition to dry aged beef and deli salads, Saratoga Dry Aged Cuts offers a wide variety of regular beef, pork, chicken, and Boar’s Head deli meats and cheeses. They also sell a selection of spices, sauces, and imported pastas. They are able to procure specialty items and recently ordered octopus legs for a customer.
The shop has relied on word of mouth and heavy use of social media to attract customers. According to Shultz, sales during their first month in business have been strong.
“Every day is a little bit better, and every week is a little bit better than the last one,” he said.
One of their best sellers has been their dry aged prime ribeye.
Dry aged beef is more expensive than regular beef because of the significant amount of overhead that goes into the process. Much of the meat’s weight is also lost due to the moisture loss that occurs during dry aging.
“Our dry aged is selling well,” said Schultz. “We thought it would be a little bit of a struggle because of the price, but that hasn’t been an issue and people have been very receptive.”
Once the shop is fully up and running, they hope to begin supplying their dry aged beef to local restaurants. Schultz and Wheeler are also considering leasing an adjoining vacant space.
“We would like to combine the two and do a full kitchen next door where we could offer hot meals to go and do catering at the same time,” he said.
The long-term business plan includes opening a second retail location closer to Saratoga Springs. They would also like to open a warehouse that would allow them to ship the meat throughout the country.
“We want to make sure we are 100 percent with what we are doing at this location before we start on our next one. We don’t want to bite off too much at once,” he said. “But we are always moving forward. For us this has gone from a hobby to a passion to our dream of having an operation like we have here.”
For more information, visit www.saratogadryagedcuts.com or follow them on Facebook.