News

M&M opens Seafood & Country Market

M&M Meatlocker owner Ronald Henderson has opened Seafood & Country Market at 323 Seventh Avenue East.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 14, 2018

Ronald Henderson put tomatoes, onions, kale and other fresh produce on display outside his brand new Seafood and Country Market about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. A couple hours later, "I came back down here and my stuff is freezing." Plus, it was snowing.

He planned to grill pinwheel steaks but it was too cold for that, too.

Even so, he was smiling and greeting customers on the first day of the market, a sister store to Henderson's M&M market, the butcher shop that has been a successful retail survivor in the Historic Seventh Avenue District for four decades.

The new seafood and produce market is in the old Chicken Shack building at 323 Seventh Ave. E., which also has served as the Greyhound bus station and most recently was the Amish Country Market.

Henderson has fresh tomatoes, onions, beans, potatoes and corn, mostly from Florida, that he buys at a big farmers market in Winston-Salem. When fruit and vegetables are in season here, the selection will be "100 percent local," he says.

On the seafood side, he'll ship in lobster and other specialties but will always have the freshest fish, shrimp and scallops from fishing boats out of Wilmington and Charleston. Special orders of specific varieties and requests can typically be accommodated. He shipped in live crawfish for a crawfish boil on Thursday, one of this week's grand opening specials.

Henderson bought M&M from L.K. Harvey four years ago after working for 18 years as a manager at the Fresh Market here and then working as vice president for operations for Earthfare. He's kept on the veteran meat cutters and counter help that knows the butcher shop's loyal customer base.

They will also offer many new products such as fresh local produce, breads, jams, bulk items and more. A grand opening celebration features samplings of new products, giveaways and special deals for patrons and a crawfish boil and stuffed jalapenos on Thursday and fresh sausages, beer brats and bourbon brats on Friday, noon to 4 p.m. both days.

“M&M Meatlocker has been a staple in Henderson County and Historic Downtown Hendersonville since 1979. Our goal is to help grow our local community and add to the great revitalization on Seventh Avenue,” Henderson said.
For more information, visit M&M’s Facebook page or call 828-692-3558.