Behind the Curtain: Bill the Butcher Gives Tour Inside Edmonds Shop

As anyone who regularly walks or drives in downtown Edmonds knows, the “coming soon” sign on the doors of Bill the Butcher’s location at Fourth Avenue North and Main Street has for way too long.

Way longer than a year, in fact.

Perhaps to assure residents that Seattle-based Bill the Butcher indeed plans to open in Edmonds, marketing director Alan Brown agreed to meet Edmonds Patch at the shop on Tuesday.

Residents have been unable to peer inside Bill the Butcher’s covered windows, but a tour inside proved that, indeed, progress is being made on its funky interior. Walls are painted oxblood red, black and white, and a neutral tan—the company’s store colors—a walk-in cooler is in place, and various assorted store fixtures sit waiting for product.

Still to be brought in are deli cases and a cash register, among other items.

Store planner and architect Thad Donat’s design uses recycled material when possible. For example, the check-out area includes the store’s sign surrounded by formerly used egg crates. “It helps to give the area an immediate soul,” said Brown.

Shoppers who look up will notice a design using discarded and repurposed barn-siding made from corrugated metal.

Although Bill the Butcher now only sells its store-wrapped meats to be eaten that day or to be frozen for future use, Brown say there is a possibility of deli-style sandwich service in the future.

Brown recognized that Edmonds residents are frustrated by the store’s failure to launch. The opening of Bill the Butcher, which sells organic and natural grass-fed meats, was to finish the company’s commissary in Seattle’s Sodo district.

Workers were then sent to a location in Wallingford, which is also scheduled to open soon.

Bill the Butcher has already recently exacerbated when an expected financial backer pulled out. Brown said that he and co-founder CEO J’Amy Owens traveled to Boston two weeks ago to meet with investors. “Things are looking positive on the financial front,” Brown said. Last week, the company announced that it had raised $545,000 in equity financing.

(Bill the Butcher’s other co-founder is William von Schneidau, who the company is named after. He has since left and has filed a lawsuit against Owens.)

Brown said Bill the Butcher still plans to expand beyond Puget Sound. “We want to get Seattle settled in first, then we plan to march down the coast eventually,” he said.

So when can Edmonds expect to see Bill the Butcher open?

Brown says the company is looking for a soft opening in mid-October, with a grand opening the month after.

“Hopefully,” he says, “we’ll be able to get Edmonds residents their turkeys before Thanksgiving.”