Corsello Butcheria transitions to subscription model

Vincent Corsello of Corsello Butcheria poses with the store’s closed sign as the business has closed it’s retail location after nine years.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis

EASTHAMPTON — An Easthampton staple is starting a new journey after spending the last decade serving its signature dishes to downtown patrons.

Corsello Butcheria has closed the doors to its retail shop on Cottage Street after nine years and has shifted to a new meat share subscription model of business.

Owners Vincent and Kasey Corsello said they will always be thankful for the community they live in for being a part of their lives for so many years.

“I think what was amazing is kind of the community that we built around the shop. Customers became friends,” Kasey told Reminder Publishing. “Initially, the vision is from when we went to Italy, and we became friends with our butcher, and we felt that way, and so building a customer base that felt more like friends. That was the vision, and it’s like, wow, these people are part of our community.”

Vincent explained that over the last couple of years, he became interested in what a meat share subscription model could mean for the business. Having already branched out to the Urban Food Brood in Springfield and featured at local farmers’ markets, Vincent soon saw an opportunity to shift the business model and consolidate as they pivot to the subscription service.

“We’ve always wanted to do some kind of regular subscription. In today’s world of business, subscriptions are great because it gives you a certain guaranteed income, or at least a more predictable income as far as what you’re going to do,” said Vincent. “So, we found that there’s lots of people using these subscription services, particularly in delivery, but they’re getting their meat shipped to them, or getting standard things they’re buying online. And so that’s what really encouraged us to do that.”

He added that during the pandemic, Corsello launched a meat share service in the community, an effort more in line with the traditional meat shares offered locally. The experience provided a glimpse into alternative modes of business and offered some transferable skills.

The subscription service offers subscribers the opportunity to build a meat share out of 10 cut categories, and gives them the ability to select multiples of the same cut. After making seven selections, subscribers can then choose to pick up every two weeks or once a month at one of four locations: Tip Top Wine Shop in Easthampton, Easthampton Farmer’s Market, the Urban Food Brood in Springfield and the Farmers Market at Forest Park. The subscription covers two pick-ups for $220.

All the meat offered through the new meat share is locally raised by farmers known and trusted, and within about 40 miles of Springfield. Every share is packed with care, frozen at peak quality, and ready for any family’s table, according to the Corsellos. Vincent shared that he hopes to soon expand on this model and offer deliveries of the meat share subscription orders.

“Running a retail shop and waiting for people to walk in the door is extremely challenging. We weren’t a grocery store, but we offered meat and a lot of products, but people go to the grocery store and buy their pasta, they buy the things we didn’t have, their vegetables, and then they just buy their meat there,” said Vincent. “We felt that the way people shop in this place, in this time, under my management, it wasn’t sustainable as the meat share would be.”

The Corsellos had been living in Easthampton for four years before opening the retail location and said the decision to plant the roots of their business in their home community was an easy one.

“We love the community, it’s a great little town, and we actually didn’t really consider other locations. We thought, if we’re going to open a butcher shop, let’s open it in Easthampton,” said Vincent.

Kasey said they will always hold a special connection to the butcher shop and their home community.

“I think what is bittersweet is we built this place,” she said. “Early memories didn’t look like this at all, and we did the work to create this. The kids were little, and you can see that transformation over the years; they grew up here. Those early memories were really sweet, and just seeing the growth of the community over time has been special.”

Vincent said he also has bittersweet feelings about the closing of this chapter for Corsello Butcheria and will miss the interactions with residents who would stop in and see what cuts were available. He said he’ll also miss the banter with customers and the tips he shared with them about how to best cook the meat.

“I’ll definitely miss that. I’ll miss everything about it. That being said, we have that in Springfield. What Springfield offers us is in the Urban Food Brood, it’s almost a food circus. It’s an area where lots of small businesses have come together to accentuate their strengths and support the other ones in the area where they’re not,” said Vincent. “My original vision came from the markets in Rome, of a butcher stall in the markets in Rome. And now, I’m actually a little closer to that, there.”

Vincent said that in the world of business, you have to keep moving forward, and that is what Corsello Butcheria plans on doing with the shift in its business model. He shared that his mission is to still offer quality meat through trusted farmers.

“We have a food system in the U.S. that’s quite literally killing us, or at the very least, it’s making us very unhealthy and therefore, very unhappy. My vision is to bring back that idea that people can cook their own food, and cook really good, delicious food, and get good quality food, and keep it simple,” he added.

To learn more about the new meat share subscription model, or to subscribe, visit corsellobutcheria.com.

Vincent expressed gratitude to the community for embracing the business as part of Easthampton for the last nine years.

“I would like to say thank you for nine years of continued support, and I really enjoyed being able to feed your families, and what’s fun is we can continue that,” said Vincent. “Check out our subscription service and check out our online ordering, and you can still get that same local quality meat from farmers we know and trust. Don’t be a stranger.”