Local Pig

Local Pig is a whole-animal meat market and artisan food shop at 20 East 5th Street in Kansas City. Its press page records that the shop has been around since 2012 and came to City Market in 2019. Before that it spent six years in the East Bottoms, where it began as an artisanal butcher and sausage shop. Owner Alex Pope wanted a place where people in Kansas City could learn where their food comes from. The shop states its beliefs plainly: local farms and businesses, humanely raised meats and cooking from scratch. The counter breaks down locally raised animals into fresh cuts and house-made sausages rather than buying boxed wholesale meat. A farm partners page names the producers it works with. Shoppers can order butcher bundles and hand-cut ribeyes, along with charcuterie boards and deli trays. Freezer bundles are packed for weeknights and tailgates. The shop stocks more than thirty other Kansas City brands on its shelves, and beef marrow bones are set aside for dogs. Classes run in the shop. A two-hour charcuterie session teaches students to make sausage and rubbed bacon as well as brined ham to take home. The sandwich shop Pigwich grew out of the same kitchen. Local Pig also caters, and the Kansas City Current has named it a restaurant partner at CPKC Stadium. Readers have voted it the city's top butcher shop, a line the shop repeats on its front page.