Still Cutting It

    Jim Andrews, a butcher for 42 of his 65 years, talks about where his career began. “I was a father of two children and the job I had at the time just wasn’t cutting it. So I went to work at a market my wife’s uncle owned.”    
    Ask Andrews what has kept him going so long and he’ll smile and say, “I have an inside job. When it’s hot outside it’s air conditioned in here, and when it’s cold outside it’s warm in here.” His line of work has taken him to southern California, to cities like Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla, with celebrity customers like Bing Crosby’s brother and John Paul Getty. He also owned his own place for 19 years and has been at Browns Valley Market in Napa for the past seven years.
    Having been a butcher for over four decades, Andrews has seen many changes in his industry. One change he notes is how many people from the younger generation don’t really know what to do with veal or lamb. This is where Andrews can give his customers a bit of his expertise, noting, “I’m savvy on how to cook things.” Many customers ask how to cook a certain cut, like lamb sirloin. Though this cut is not common, Andrews is familiar with it. He is more than willing to share some of his favorite ways to cook pretty much any cut, and he loves to hear customers tell him how the recipe went. He is always ready to answer any questions or fulfill requests his customers have, simple or complex. “You name it, I’ll get it,” he says with a grin.
    Andrews’ universal philosophy is: “If you can’t smile and be happy, then you shouldn’t come to work.” This feeling resonates in everything in does. He treats each customer as if they were old friends. Since many of his customers have been coming to see him for years, the conversation is often just a catch-up from the last visit. For many, Andrews’ good conversation is why they go to Browns Valley Market.
    Though most of his customers are regulars, Andrews will be the first to admit that he is not very good with names. Over time he decided to start writing their names behind the counter on the stainless steel frame of the display case. He knows his customers by face but with this creative solution he can call them by name when they visit.
    Always teaching and always learning, Andrews doesn’t consider himself an expert at his craft. “I’ve got guys coming in here showing me new ways to do things. I’ve been doing this for 42 years and would have never thought to do it that way.” 
    Andrews is now reluctantly moving into the next chapter in his life: retirement. “I’m kind of afraid to fully retire; I’m not sure I’ll have enough to do.” He is currently working part-time at the market—he started this new schedule in March so it is still new—filling his days off with golf and fishing. When someone loves what they do, like Andrews does, they can never give it up completely. “I might get bored to death, and just might have to ask for my job back.”

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