“Trust Your Local Butcher!” commands a giant dry-erase board behind the counter of Brick House Butcher, which opened in May in Falls Church City’s Old Brick House Square. In this case, it’s two butchers—husband and wife Mike and Emma Ferguson, who double as the shop’s operating managers. Owners Afsheen and Arash Tafakor also own Dominion Wine & Beer next door.
Considering the pristine meats, poultry, fish and seafood items on display, the trust is merited. The Fergusons proudly post the local sources of their products, including beef from Burner’s Beef (Luray, Virginia) and Roseda Farm (Monkton, Maryland); pork from Autumn Olive Farms (Waynesboro, Virginia); lamb from Elysian Fields (Waynesburg, Pennsylvania) and chicken from Chapel Ford Farm (Gettysburg). Fish and seafood come from Lobster Maine-ia in Chantilly.
Stock up on pork chops ($21.99/pound), loin lamb chops ($27.99/pound), flank steak ($17.99/pound) and boneless rib-eye ($25.99/pound), to name a few of the choice options. The market also carries a limited selection of produce, dry goods, farm eggs, cheese and charcuterie.
Born in Arlington and raised in Falls Church, Mike Ferguson was captivated by international food cultures during two Marine Corps deployments and went on to attend culinary school at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg (now closed). After working in various DMV restaurants and dabbling in his own barbecue business, he landed a job at JM Stock Provisions, a whole-animal butchery in Charlottesville. He then completed a four-month apprenticeship at a farm in the Tuscany region of Italy (where he learned pig butchery) and worked at The Organic Butcher in McLean and Oliver’s Corner Butcher Shop in Great Falls. The latter is where he met his now wife, who also worked at The Whole Ox butchery in Marshall, Virginia.
Sausage-making is Mike’s passion and the flavors ($12.99/pound) change according to his whim. Recent variations have included chicken parm, banh mi, loaded baked potato, Italian fennel and jalapeno cheddar.