A flurry of email, blog posts and even a Facebook page hit the net this week to save Drewes. The general tenor is that Whole Foods is sucking the life out of the 120-year-old meat purveyor at 1760 Church St.
Here's the email that apparently started the latest campaign:
For those of us who eat meat and live in Upper Noe Valley, I want to let you know about the plight of Drew's Bros Butchers. They have been decimated in the past three weeks by the opening of Whole Foods. They have had to cut back on staff hours and things are not looking good. While I am highly supportive of Whole Foods as a good addition to the neighborhood, (I really think we needed a grocery store in our neighborhood and...I am from Austin, although I am appalled at the founder's stance on healthcare), I hate to see that come at the expense of a SF institution like Drews. Did you know that they have been in SF for over a 100 years!!!?? They carry a wider variety of grass fed meets, local eggs, milk etc. Anyway, if you are a current fan of Drew's, please try to still support them, otherwise, we may lose one of the last real butchers in this city! It's cliche, but unfortunately true, "use it or lose it."Yes, many Noe Valleyeans are concerned about this. But a quick search on the Web shows many stories about Drewes on the verge of going out of business - including this one from 1998: "Drewes Meat Market on Last Legs."
Here's the rub: If it's local, organic, etc, we're there. But we still can't get into Drewes. Maybe it's the rough service, PO Boxes, and notary public on the premises. Or maybe it's that the slightly more expensive but wonderful meats at the farmer's market are more local, more sustainable and taste better. (Can't make the farmer's market? Check out Avedano's, a short walk from Upper Noe.)
So support Drewe's and other local merchants if you believe in them (like the email says, "use it or lose it"). But we have a hard time with the idea that WF is solely responsible for Drewe's demise.
