Butcher Shop Aims for 'Mom & Pop' Experience in Morris Twp.

Remember the old days when you would go into a family-owned butcher shop whose employees knew your name and order?

A few local guys are looking to recreate that experience in Morris Township.

Howard Horowitz, Tony Prizzi and Tim Nugent are opening Nugent’s Prime Meat Market between Elite Picture Framing and Epitome Style Lounge on Speedwell Avenue. 

Prizzi, a Weichert real estate agent, and Horowitz, who currently works for Smith Barney, and Nugent, who previously worked for Oscar Mayer, all live in Morris Township.

“We bought the building in June 2012,” said Horowitz. “The building was an eyesore and not kept up, so we gave it a facelift, put in new windows and doors.”

The space between the framing store and hair salon was vacant for two years and was previously an interior design center, Horowitz said.

“We thought what can we really do, what would work in the middle?” said Horowitz.

Thus, the idea of a butcher shop was born last August. They plan to open in early June with the grand opening date to be announced later.

Butcher Shop Background

The idea came from Nugent’s background with meats and butchering.

“Green Village Packing started in 1948 and they supply a sizeable amount of pork to Chinatown and meat to establishments in the area. Tim (Nugent)’s grandfather-in-law started Green Village Packing,” said Horowitz. “Nugent worked at Green Village for 20 years, and his sons work there with him. They learned the business at Green Village.”

Nugent’s meat background didn’t stop there. He also previously worked at Oscar Mayer, furthering his knowledge of meats and butchering.

Nugent’s two sons Chris and Kyle will be running the shop. So how do Horowitz and Prizzi come in the picture?

“The three of us are all connected through the children for the past 15 years,” said Horowitz. “Our kids grew up together, our sons grew up together.”

The Butcher Shop Idea

“Because we have this relationship with Tim, the three of us went to lunch and we asked him, ‘if we build a butcher shop will you help?’ ” said Horowitz.

Prizzi has mostly been handling the construction and set up of the shop.

“The concept of the store is a nostalgic one, going back to the '60s or '70s,” said Horowitz. “You would stop off at the butcher shop to buy your hamburgers and meat and chicken and steak. Think of freshness instead of getting meat on Styrofoam. We will have gourmet deli sandwiches and bread provided by Anthony and Sons, which is in Denville. Everything will be a reasonable price.”

“It’s back to the mom & pop store,” said Prizzi. “Instead of going to Costco with its trucks and trailers and warehouse, you can come here and have your ground beef freshly ground. It’s a novelty that went away and we’re trying to bring it back. It’s quality at a reasonable price.”

He added that some of the features on their deli menu include marinated turkey London broil and a signature prime rib sandwich along with regular deli items, cheeses and Italian meats.

Keeping it Local

They’re looking to make it a community butcher shop that’s family owned and run, where they know your name when you come in.

“We believe the community will embrace the store,” said Horowitz. “The Nugents used to live on this road,” he said in reference to Kennedy Road, which borders the building. Nugent’s wife, Sue, is secretary with the Morris School District.

Looking ahead, they plan to keep it local and give back to the community.

“Next year we’d like to sponsor a little league team,” said Horowitz.

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