Meat Lovers in Northern Colorado Rate These 3 Butchers as The Best

With Colorado having a ranching and agricultural heritage, many people across the state enjoy a "good piece of meat" now and again. While butchers do more than cut and prepare meats, it's good to know that there are several across Northern Colorado that people love.

Butchers Can Be a Big Part of a Happy Family

Butchers have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years; providing their neighborhoods with prime cuts of meat, poultry, and pork, while also giving advice on how to prepare those items at home. When you have a great relationship with your favorite butcher, they almost become a part of the family, as they help your family enjoy time together.

Butchers Are Such a Part of 'Community' They Show Up in Pop Culture

When I think of butchers and pop culture, two come immediately to mind: Sam the butcher from the hit TV show "The Brady Brunch," and the character Harriet from the Mike Meyers comedy, "So, I Married and Axe Murderer." Sam was the friendliest guy around, and Harriet (while not a murderer) definitely knew he way around a butcher shop.

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Often on Facebook, people ask for recommendations; one "ask" caught my attention: Someone was looking for a good butcher; I saw many people chime in on who they liked, and three kept coming up. Two of the names I definitely recognized; one, however, took me by surprise.

• Friendly Nick's Butcher - Fort Collins.

Friendly Nick's got a lot of exposure as being one of the greatest businesses around in the fall of 2025, with SNAP benefits being cutoff during the government shutdown. Nick gave away meat/poultry/egg packages to those who were in need.

• The Merc - Mead.

The Merc, just east of I-25 on Highway 66 in Mead, opened in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic; they quickly became the "go to" spot for coffee, sandwiches and butchered meat. This one took me by surprise as I'd not heard of them.

• Your Butcher Frank - Longmont.

I have a personal friend who swears by Frank, as many others across Northern Colorado do. His shop opened in 1980; over 45 years later, he's still running his deli and butcher shop. People come from miles around not only for his meat bundles and such, but also for a great bite to eat.