Donald Feiler and Marc Rohlsberger always had something in common. They were both butchers and meat crafters who each had spent decades in the meat industry working for other enterprises.

While they were working at a gourmet supermarket in Westchester County, NY, they agreed to consider opening their own business. On May 22 of this year, they put up a sign near an iconic 1800’s iron rail bridge in New Milford, Conn., and swung open the doors to Boardman Bridge Butchers. There were a few hitches to overcome, but this small business soon got off to a roaring start.

“We had been looking for a location when Marc noticed a building a few miles from his home in New Milford that had been used for a catering business,” Feiler said. “It was listed as available and for sale, but it took nearly six months for a realtor to return our calls. Just after Christmas of 2023, we came to an agreement to rent the 800-square-foot location with an option to buy.

“We obtained our retail store license and got other approvals needed, did some remodeling and were able to open to the public a week before Memorial Day. That worked out great for us and we’ve been busy ever since. We were just shocked we were so busy on our grand opening day.”

Boardman Bridge opens

When Feiler, now 52, and Rohlsberger, 53, say ‘busy’ they don’t mention that the butcher shop is open seven days a week, and they are open to the public anywhere from 9 to 12 hours each day, plus their prep time. Their skeleton staff includes the two co-owner partners and a teenager they hired. On exceptionally busy days, Rohlsberger’s daughter, who is going to school, pitches in to run the sales register on weekends and Feiler’s son lends a hand when he’s available.

“It’s a very small shop and we found out quickly that we needed to get it air conditioned,” Feiler said. “It was so hot this summer that we each lost about 20 lbs of weight in a week because of the heat. We absolutely needed to get it cooler inside.”

Boardman Bridge Butchers features only Prime beef for its loin cuts and Choice Black Angus for other beef items the shop promotes. Boardman’s most popular items are the Prime New York strip steaks, beef and chicken kabobs, and the dozen varieties of sausage they offer, including poultry sausages. They offer grass-fed lamb as well.

The partners also tapped into the “to-go meals” craze and feature selections like Philly cheesesteaks, pulled pork, and pork parmesan sandwiches until 3 p.m. daily. But the shop also offers a tasty line of breakfast sandwiches from the get-go each morning. On a typical day the shop sells about 40 breakfast sandwiches and 30 lunch sandwiches daily.

Another boon for the fast-starting business has been seafood. Their selections include oysters, scallops, calamari, live lobsters, steamers, haddock, swordfish, salmon, sole, crab legs and cooked shrimp cocktail.

A peek at their website, boardmanbridgebutchers.com, reveals much about the partners, and their experience and drive to succeed. Their advertising is social media posts on Facebook and Instagram where their “to-go” menus are listed, including specials like chili and chicken wings.

Source: Boardman Bridge Butchers

Skills builders

Feiler’s meat background goes back to 1989 when at the age of 16 he worked at a Hartsdale, NY, butcher shop as a maintenance and clean-up employee and later began to wield a knife and cleaver. By 1994 he was honing his skills in delis, small shops and supermarkets, working as a meat manager at Grand Union and the A&P. He was also experienced as a sausage maker and meat preparations specialist at Turcos supermarket.

Rohlsberger’s butcher training began in the United Kingdom where he lived for three decades. In 1992, he was honored as the “Young Butcher of the Year” in the United Kingdom. Also noteworthy is the fact that he showcased his expertise by serving royalty at Buckingham Palace.

When he moved to the United States, Rohlsberger served as meat manager for national grocers and companies like DeCicco & Sons Markets. Rohlsberger’s experience includes monitoring and training teams by instilling high standards in meat department operations. He is also passionate about educating customers in meat quality.

Paired, they are like a Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris — teammates in meats.

Another thing residents in the 20,000 population town of New Milford are learning is that this dynamic team cares about the community, offering help to local livestock producers who have their animals slaughtered at other locations under inspection made into the cuts and other value-added meats they want. Meats they stuff with their own recipes are huge sellers.

The Boardman Bridge Butcher owners also support schools, fire departments, the American Cancer Society and other local service organizations.

“It is imperative to us that we reach out to help our community, and they know that we are much more than just a meat shop,” Rohlsberger said.

The Old Boardman Bridge, in New Milford, Conn., was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

| Source: Boardman Bridge Butchers

Bridge to the future

Feiler added that they intend to buy the building they now lease but are also interested in purchasing more space in the same structure where a full-line catering enterprise and perhaps a restaurant might be in the cards for the future. The partners also are looking into game processing and possibly providing delivery services.

For now, space is very limited, but the butcher shop has some space devoted to what the owners call “a curated selection of essentials” like pasta, rice, and some sauces.

The shop prides itself on recipes that Rohlsberger and Feiler have learned, developed and refined over the years. They explain that their shop is not the place for cold cuts. “Every cut tells a story” they advise with a note that “we are doing our own thing.”

“But for now we need to focus on thinking things through...when time allows,” Feiler said. “We were shocked with how busy we were when we opened for business. Then someone asked us if we had gift certificates. We actually had never thought about it and wrote the gift card credit on the back of one of our business cards. We have those gift cards now but were just overwhelmed at the beginning.”

The partners are adamant that their gourmet butcher shop and meat business will turn into what they want it to be. That is reinforced by a paraphrased statement from their website which states:

“We’re carving a legacy inspired by the rich tapestry of the Old Boardman Bridge, an icon of the town’s heritage, a backdrop to our commitment to tradition and excellence. We’re more than a butcher shop. It’s a nod to the days when craftsmanship and quality mattered.”