Butcher-to-the-stars Evan Lobel on his decision to go into the family business and how he got that scar on his pinkie
Age: 54
Location: New York, NY
Why we care: Would you go into business with your dad? What if that business was slicing massive sides of beef, and you really wanted to be a jewelry designer or a glassblower? If you're Evan Lobel, you make your peace with your art and pick up a cleaver. His great-great-grandfather established the family beef business in Austria in 1840; today Lobel and two cousins are the fifth generation of Lobels along with Uncle Stanley to run Lobel's butcher shop, a 100-year-old retail butcher that started in the Bronx and moved to Manhattan's Upper East Side in 1952. It's fancy stuff: Lobel's premium dry aged beef is cut from USDA prime, which accounts for less than 2 percent the beef in the U.S., and customers include Harrison Ford, Calvin Klein and Whoopi Goldberg.
Did you always want to be a butcher?
No. I was a bit of a rebel as a teenager. I was into crafts, blowing glass, that kind of thing. When I was around 17 or 18, I worked in a factory that made circuitry for elevators and went to the Fashion Institute of Technology at night to study jewelry design and pottery. But I wasn't really good enough to make a living, so I decided to keep art as a hobby and give the business a try.
What were some of your concerns about going into the family business?
I wanted to make my own way. I was really determined to move out of the house and start something on my own. I was concerned about working every day with my dad. The whole store is 600 square feet. In the cutting section, we all work shoulder to shoulder day in and day out. My father would talk about me growing my hair too long and about me growing a beard. It eventually worked out.
Did you wonder if the family business, which lasted so many generations, would be something that would give you a financially stable career?
It's a good question. The butcher business wasn't a cool place to be. During the past 15 years, the Food Network and other things have really rejuvenated the field. Being a butcher wasn't cool, and though the business was successful, it wasn't as much as it is now. In retrospect, yeah, there was the security, but I've also worked hard to increase sales and productivity to make sure I was earning my way.
Lobel's only buys USDA prime beef, and only takes the finest cuts, for which you pay a premium. This meat is not the kind you find wrapped in plastic in the supermarket. What's your average customer like?
Our customers certainly aren't concerned with cost. Foodies love to come to us, people looking for something for special occasions. We get a lot of actors and actresses.
But what about regular people like me?
If you come in, we'll do whatever we can to help.
It's summer right now, which means a lot of folks are firing up their grills. Does business pick up around this time?
The best time for us is actually during the holidays, when people are cooking and having people over. With the problems in the economy, people are also sitting around the dinner table more, cooking at home and eating as a family unit. They're just choosing lamb or poultry instead of prime rib.
What's your favorite cut of meat?
A dry-aged double New York strip steak. It's $48.98 per pound. I like it because you can cook it on all four sides and it'll be charred all the way around. I'll use natural coals and wood, maybe infuse it with smoke with a hint of pecan and get it nice and charred and medium rare. You can slice it down for two or more people.
Do you think you'll ever want to retire? Do you have a comfortable nest egg?
In 20 years, sure, I'd like to see that happen. I have a good retirement plan with the family business. I'd like to garden more, go kayaking and sailing. I have a wife and three daughter ages 15, 14, and 11, and they keep me pretty busy.
Do you want your children to take over the business?
I hope that one or more of them are willing, if that's what they want. My daughters came in at a very early age to work a little bit around the shop. Sometimes I have to bribe them to come in.
You went to college for a little bit and decided it wasn't for you. Are you planning to have all your daughters go to college?
Absolutely. My wife and I have education funds set up. Each individual kid is different. If one kid has aspirations to pursue the arts or something else, nobody is going to understand that more than me.
And if they're finding it tough out there, are you going to let them move back home with you?
I don't want to make it easy for them to come home. I think parents are quick to let kids come home if it's hard out there, and I want to give my kids a shot at building some character. That being said, I'm a family guy, so they'll always have me.
What else do you like to do besides working at Lobel's?
I'm a bit of a car buff. When I was 17, I saved up and bought a 1965 Skylark convertible for $175. I loved that car until I got bored and sold it for $500. Then I got a 1969 Firebird convertible, which I'm so mad I got rid of because it's really worth something now. The car I drive now is a 2007 BMW 328. I'm restoring a few cars now, including a 1972 BMW 2002 tii. I wish I was more mechanically proficient.
I'm afraid to ask, but I have to because I'm curious. Have you ever cut yourself while butchering?
Pretty much when I could walk, my dad put a knife in my hand. When I was about 10 years old, I was trimming some meat and I got distracted and cut myself across my pinkie across the first joint pretty badly. The fear in my dad's and grandfather's eyes was almost worse that the actual cut.
Are you rich now? And other invasive questions for notable folks, in previous episodes of Other People's Money:
- Money lessons from The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
- Always paying with cash: The Awl's Choire Sicha
- I racked up $60,000 in debt: Celebrity colorist Rita Hazan
- Not saving for retirement: Brain Pickings blogger Maria Popova
- Quitting fashion to open America's hottest vegan bakery: BabyCakes' Erin McKenna
