What’s for Dinner?

New-style butcher shop aims to help make family mealtime a fun bonding experience.

With his business just past the six-month-old milestone, Jared McFadden hopes the concept of sharing good food that’s locally sourced will resonate with Peachtree Corners residents.

Union Brothers Meat Market opened in September 2022 and along with his staff and family, McFadden is looking to bring a new culinary experience to the area. The philosophy behind the butcher shop stems from getting away from the divisiveness that’s been driving people apart.

“The goal to bring people together. And we think food is a great vehicle to do that,” McFadden said. “The goal isn’t to change people’s opinion, but I feel like, if you understand where somebody is coming from, I think it just makes you more aware, more sensitive, and could hopefully bring unity.

“So that’s where the name ‘Union Brothers’ came from — a way to hopefully unify people, family, friends, whatever, together around an amazing meal,” he explained.

When you think about it, sharing food is a great equalizer, he added, because everybody is around a table with no hierarchy. 

“It’s just great food and a great bottle of wine and being able to share fellowship together,” said McFadden.

The ‘make it better’ guarantee

Even though his background isn’t in culinary arts or food management, McFadden believes his experience in Human Resources (HR) is a natural foundation. 

“I’m in the people business,” he said. “So if you come to the shop, one of the first things we say is, ‘I want you to have an amazing customer experience.’”

The store is set up to make shopping and choosing the components of a meal convenient. Even though there is an entire wall of spices, rubs and flavorings, there is always someone who can help suggest the right cut of meat for each occasion — and include everything that should go with it.

“We have a ‘make it better’ guarantee — not even just to make it right, but to make it better,” said McFadden. “We want people to have a better experience through our shop.”

To ensure the experience lives up to the shop’s guarantee, McFadden surrounds himself with people who know the meat industry well. 

“Our lead butcher, Carey Wise, has 25-plus years of experience. Chris Baler [the butcher apprentice] also has a ton of experience as well,” McFadden said. “I handle the customer experience side, and I have folks who really understand the meat side of the business.”

McFadden, father of three girls and member of Perimeter Baptist Church, said, “I’ve always been very passionate about community. That’s why …I ended up back in Gwinnett County.” 

Well before the pandemic hit, he’d had the idea of combining his “foodie” passion with his people-pleasing persona. “I love going to different shops in the city and wanted to bring something a little different to Peachtree Corners,” he said. “There are some great shops around here who do similar things, but I wanted to have a little bit of a different twist.”

Bonding over meals

One example of his innovations is Union Brothers concept of providing all the ingredients for an amazing family meal. It’s an idea that came to him during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We just spent [time making] a lot of meals at home. Then we began to think of trying to cook something different,” he said. “One of the downfalls of our culture over the last 40 years is getting away from the family dinner, …microwaving something and then everybody sits around the TV.”

McFadden is adamant about getting family time back. It is important to not just eat together. He said that preparing meals together is one of the most satisfying bonding experiences. 

In addition to locally sourced meats, Union Brothers carries produce, charcuterie, desserts, seasonings, wines and cooking utensils from nearby and/or small businesses. “As much as we can, we try to work with vendors who were either from Georgia or minority business owners,” he said.

With all the great foods and items the shop offers, McFadden doesn’t want customers to feel intimidated by high-quality products. A weekly newsletter offers cooking tips and advice on meal planning and wine pairings.

This summer he plans to add cooking demonstrations, he said.

“Mealtime should be enjoyable, and we want customers to know that now you have someone who can help you make the most of it,” said McFadden. “We even give out our phone number so you can text us with questions.”

Union Brothers Meat Market

5275 Peachtree Pkwy. NW, Ste. 105, Peachtree Corners

unionbrosmeatmarket.com, 770-601-3696