Neighborhood butcher shop to open in Eastown

In a few short weeks Eastown will have its very own neighborhood butcher shop. Located at 1413 Lake Drive in the historically designated building wedged between Robinson Road and Lake Drive sits over 2,000 square feet of a soon to be developed meat market. 

E.A. Brady's is owned and operated by siblings Evan and Aidan, local West Michigan men who both respectively call Fulton Heights and Eastown their home. The brothers who grew up in Grand Haven have been making their way to Eastown since they were kids, coming to see underage shows at the Intersection. Their particular affinity for Eastown made it an inevitable choice to start their business. 

"Eastown has always been forward thinking. The people that would realize that the quality of meat relates to the quality of life and are willing to pay for a much happier animal and better product at a higher level of service - we feel this is the neighborhood," says Evan Brady. 

E.A. Brady's plans to bring in whole animals from local farms, no boxed meat. The emphasis is on local, but Aidan Brady laughs that not everything can be local.

"Sea salt for instance" he jokes, "is not a local product." 

Brady's already partnered with Crane Dance Farms of Middleville as a supplier. They would like to stock as many options of grass fed and heritage breeds as possible, pig breeds like mellow Mulefoot and Berkshire hogs.

"We want to make sure we know how the animal was raised, we want to know who the farmers were, what feed it got, -we can't do %100 grass fed all the time because it's Michigan- but we want to be able to control if they supplement the feed, we want to make sure we know what it is, how much it is," says Evan Brady. 

The brothers take care to make sure that the meat they purvey comes from ethically treated animals. They adhere to animal welfare approved methods that determine how an animal is fed, medical treatment and how far it can be from the slaughterhouse during transfer time, which reduces the stress levels.  

"Happy animals taste better," says Evan Brady.

Evan Brady is excited about sharing where people's food comes from.

"We want to help educate people about where food comes from," says Evan Brady. "Half of it is to provide good serve and quality products and meat, the other half is to help people connect it where their food comes from."

The brothers come from a lineage of butchers. Their paternal great-grandfather owned and operated JA Brady's Market and Meat Counter (which E.A., other than initials. is an homage to) for more than 35 years in Brighton. Their maternal great-grand father started Cotton Meat Works in Wacousta, Michigan before relocating to Phoenix, Arizona. 

Continuing that tradition, Evan Brady took a 12 week training program at Fleisher's in New York. He also has a college degree in hospitality and hotel management from Grand Valley State University. After college he worked for New Holland Brewing. 

Aidan Brady has an agricultural degree from Michigan State University as well as a business degree. 

The pair plan to do stocks, stews, smoked meats, butchers lunches, cold cuts such as roast beef, pastrami and turkey and sausages. 

"The guys on the West Side do sausage so well, we're going to let them do their thing and we'll do our little thing," says Evan Brady.

"They're good at what they do and we're good at what we do," Aidan Brady follows. 

E.A. Brady's will also carry eggs, dairy, milk, bread from Field and Fire, limited kitchenware, cutlery and artisan soda from Faygo. 

"Hopefully it gives the city of Grand Rapids a wealth of options and choices and places to go and interesting things to do," says Aidan Brady. "It brings up the livability quotient of the whole city."