Butcher's Chop House
Photography: Timothy Thimmes
To dine on the deck of Butcher’s Chop House & Bar on lower Main Street is to experience Park City’s continuing evolution from mining town to world-class resort. During one meal, diners can observe the historic houses of Old Town’s past, follow the chairs of the Town Lift that helped change the local economy, and savor the flavors of a mature destination resort.
Inside Butcher’s, rows of gleaming bottles colored by their spirituous contents cover a two-story wall in the bar area. Their variety and number—the highest in any private club in Park City, according to managing owner Jesse Shetler—mock the rumors that alcohol is hard to come by in Utah. Similarly, the glass-walled wine room upstairs in the chop house boasts a lavish number of wines, with close to 50 served by the glass as well as the bottle. This combination of adult beverages, along with the warm cherry wood comprising the interiors, creates a stylish atmosphere that serves as another testimonial to Park City’s development into a full-fledged resort town.
Shetler, along with partners Michael Johnson and Terry Jannott, opened Butcher’s in December, 2003, continuing their own personal and professional evolutions. Jannott recently left to pursue other opportunities, but Shetler and Johnson built their business alliance on a friendship that has spanned decades. They met when Johnson trained Shetler as a bartender at The Alamo. In 2000, the two men bought the same private club and renamed it the No Name Saloon and Grill.
Shetler, who’s worked in Park City’s bar and restaurant scene for 16 years, is the face most closely associated with the restaurant and club. As managing owner, he is constantly on the floor, working with contractors to continue improvements, commissioning artwork for the main dining hall or even pulling shifts last winter while the restaurant searched for a floor manager.
Johnson, whose résumé includes managing two of Clint Eastwood’s restaurants in California, credits his partner with much of the creation and operation of Butcher’s. Shetler, on the other hand, emphasizes the huge part Johnson had in getting the nuts and bolts of the business together in the beginning months. Johnson visits the restaurant on a daily basis, but leaves much of the operation to Shetler and the staff. One phone call from Shetler, how-ever, and Johnson, the veteran troubleshooter, is there to help.
Shetler says of working with Johnson, “When everybody’s strengths complement each part of the business, you’re bound to have a homerun.” Johnson says, “Jesse is the big picture guy. I’m the details inside. We’ve got a really good partnership,” he added. “We realized that if we don’t get along, it all goes straight through to the customer, so we hash things out. A lot of times I will trust his opinion more than mine.”
A new steakhouse in town
Shetler drew from his boyhood in Chicago to import the idea of a chop house to Old Town. Unlike the traditional chop houses of the Windy City, however, where competition for distinction is fierce, Butcher’s naturally stands apart in Utah with its fresh approach on serving prime rib, London broil and cowboy steak.
“I felt we could come in and bridge the gap [between rustic Western and fine dining steak houses.] This location could accommodate our vision for a chop house,” said Shetler.
“We both like steakhouses, and it was a natural choice,” agreed Johnson.
Different cuts and preparations of beef dominate the menu—from the New York strip to the Chop House porterhouse—but the best-seller is Butcher’s Filet Mignon, topped with crab cake and béarnaise sauce and served with artichokes, sautéed spinach and au gratin potatoes.
Johnson admits to his own addiction to one entrée in particular: “The prime rib—love it. Our chef is unreal … I eat here every day,” he said.
Behind every steak is Executive Chef Greg Grass, who joined the staff early in 2004. He works with a small army of kitchen staff, including his son, David Perez, to serve close to 500 people on the busiest days.
Offering a complete meal with vegetables and potatoes, pasta or rice, differentiates Butcher’s from the traditional chop house, which offers everything à la carte, said Shetler. This was important to accommodate families, and Butcher’s has been richly rewarded for these efforts since opening, boasting a loyal clientele.
Expanding the menu beyond chop house staples was also important, and Butcher’s features seafood, vegetarian dishes, pork, chicken and pizza. Kids get their own menu as well, offering not just chicken fingers and smaller burgers, but kiddie cocktails, such as “The Cat in the Hat,” and child-themed desserts, like “Dirt & Worms.”
Both men still consider Butcher’s to be a work in progress. Sometime in the off season, the main dining room, which can seat more than 125 people at once, will be appointed with partial wall dividers to create more intimacy for the occasional slow night. The outside deck, which has already proven popular in the winter, will become even more enticing with aromas from a new barbecue grill and the warmth of heaters for cooler evenings.
The affinity to work together and build won’t pause once Butcher’s has solidly established itself, however. Johnson is already taking the lead on an Internet-based business and the seed for another new project is already planted in both partners’ brains. Shetler has only one project he started without Johnson—his daughter, born in January. Evolution, like Park City, never stops!
When she’s not deciding between the filet mignon and a New York strip steak, Monika Guendner is a freelance writer in Park City.
Butcher’s Chop House and Bar is located at 751 Main Street. 647.0040.
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