THE MODERN BUTCHER is well known for being one of the best sandwich shops (that happens to be a fantastic butcher as well) on the North Shore. And now, the rest of the country has been clued in, thanks to Food & Wine magazine’s designating it as one of the “13 Must-Visit Sandwich Shops” across the country, writing, “It’s only right that the sustainable, pasture-raised meats from local New England farms are front and center, packed high.”
The sandwich and butcher shop, which opened in Newburyport in 2019, and then moved to a more spacious Danvers location in 2023, has been a BONS winner multiple times for best sandwich. The amount of time we’ll queue up for that famous roast beef 3-way? There is no limit, really. The whole-animal butchery works exclusively with meat raised within 150 miles of the North Shore, and all of its meats come from farms that owners Warren Means and Lisa Nichols have visited and have relationships with. The shop takes delivery of approximately one whole cow a week, a couple of pigs, and a bunch of chickens. You can taste the care and commitment to keeping it local between the bread.
The big news? “It just kind of popped up on my phone,” says Nichols, who was at a photo shoot when she found out the magazine had given the shop its endorsement, “I kind of internally screamed to myself because I had no one around me.” She immediately called her partner, who was busy with lunch service, and said “Go, go look at your phone right now!” Being on a list with so many sandwich makers like award-winning New Orleans sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf, put the shop in very good company, says Nichols. Since the announcement, which was shared on the shop’s social media, everyone coming into the shop has been congratulatory and celebratory—the North Shore loves a local success story.
In particular, the food magazine called out the shop’s traditional North Shore roast beef sandwich with white American cheese, James River barbecue sauce, and slices of pink beef, as worth the trip. The messy, decadent sandwich is available only on Saturdays, and as locals know, you’ll need to get there early. However, the rest of the menu is excellent, and Nichols and Means say the well-deserved accolades are pushing them to be even more creative with their menu and hospitality. “It keeps pushing us more,” Nichols says, “It’s a pro and con of both of our personalities, where we want to keep pushing harder and more, and it becomes daunting sometimes. But we’re constantly challenging ourselves!”
With that in mind, the duo is prepping a fall menu that leans heavily into comforting favorites, with lots of braised meats. Expect to see the usual eight to ten sandwiches on the menu, but Nichols says they’ll likely be doing two daily special sandwiches, including a planned chicken pho sandwich. As always, you can follow the impossibly delicious Instagram account to find out what’s on the menu for the day. The shop is also looking to grow its menu beyond sandwiches to do smash burgers and rice bowls as more regular fixtures of the daily menu. With the weather turning colder, Modern Butcher wants to be the stop on the North Shore for a warm, easy meal to take home. Doubt they’ll have any problem getting people to oblige, getting those meals to go or grabbing a seat at the counter with a selection from the curated selection of natural wines and hard-to-find craft beers.
36 Maple St., Danvers, 978-750- 9829, themodernbutchershop.com