Jim Myers

jtmyers@tennessean.com

The owners of Porter Road Butcher will close their Charlotte Avenue location Oct. 28 to focus on their East Nashville location.

Chris Carter, who started the high-end meat store specializing in whole animal butchery with partner James Peisker, made the announcement by phone from Italy.

"Honestly, we're overwhelmed," he said of the challenge of managing the flagship store in East Nashville, the Charlotte location and the slaughter facility they purchased in Kentucky. "We were stretched too thin."

Both Carter and Peisker, like almost every other hospitality business owner in the city, have complained about the challenges of finding, developing and keeping good talent, especially at the managerial level. They say they are buoyed by the growth of manager Kyle Colvard, who was one of their earliest hires and worked in both locations.

After opening the first location at the head of Gallatin Avenue in 2011, they quickly moved to open a second location two years later on Charlotte. In the intervening three years since then, they were able to purchase both properties. After closing Charlotte, they plan to sell the former fast-food shell on what has become one of the busier corridors of development in the city.

"Kentucky, especially, took us away from both shops. This will be the first time, since opening, that we can focus all of our energy on one location," Carter said.

Part of those plans includes doubling of the market space and an expansion of their charcuterie line.

"This is a really good thing for our longevity," Carter said. "We want to build this into the best meat market in the country."

Cater and Peisker plan to have some kind of closing celebration on Charlotte to thank the Sylvan Park Community. The Gallatin Avenue store will close briefly for expansion construction in early January.

Reach Jim Myers at 615-259-8367 on Instagram@culinarityand on Twitter@ReadJimMyers.