The Butcher’s Daughters: Muskoka’s Specialty Grocery Destination

For over 30 years, The Butcher’s Daughters has been a staple in the Muskoka region. What started originally as a butcher shop, has blossomed into your one-stop-shop for quality meats, specialty groceries, and a variety of homemade oven ready meals and soups. The realm of services The Butcher’s Daughters offers does not stop there; they also offer catering and have a cafe where customers can enjoy sandwiches, coffees and desserts. Current owner Kim Barnes took over The Butcher’s Daughters in 2005, after working for the previous owner. Kim is a trained chartered accountant, but her passion for cooking drove her to pursuing a career in the food industry. 

The Butcher’s Daughters was originally located in Huntsville, ON, but after an unfortunate sewage accident, Kim had to find a new location. After finding a new home in Gravenhurst, ON, Kim was able to reopen the store and continue to serve her customers. Less than a year after opening, COVID-19 hit. Due to restrictions, the cafe was no longer able to operate. Kim mentions this made up about half of her business. At this point, their goals pivoted to focus on the prepared foods and grocery side of the business. Her customers continued to come to the store to get the items they love, but Kim knew that having an online platform would benefit the future success of The Butcher’s Daughters. 

As a small-business owner and operator, Kim felt the process of building an online store to be daunting and time-consuming. With the help of the ShopHERE Program, The Butcher’s Daughters now has a fully functioning online store that has aided in the increase of sales. Over the course of a year, the sales of oven-ready meals have doubled. Kim accredits this to her online store and being able to better serve her Huntsville customers. Customers of The Butcher’s Daughters can order for pick-up or delivery, allowing for a seamless shopping experience. As Kim states, the new eCommerce store has helped to dampen the pain associated with having to close the cafe, which made up a significant segment of her business. 

The ShopHERE Program is partnered with Shopify, Google, Mastercard and Microsoft to help build and optimize online stores for small businesses and artists. Committed to building 50,000 free stores for small businesses, the ShopHERE Program is providing a no-cost way to help businesses adapt to the eCommerce climate. It is important now more than ever to support local small businesses. If you or someone you know has a small business looking for assistance in building a professional e-commerce website, apply for the ShopHERE program now! Shop for delicious soups, oven-ready meals and specialty groceries today on The Butcher’s Daughters website!