One of the OG tenants at the revamped Ferry Building two decades ago, Golden Gate Meat Co., is, like some other longtime tenants in recent years, giving up its spot in the complex.

The company, which is primarily a wholesale business based in Richmond and Santa Rosa, has declined to comment on the closure of its only retail store. But the Chronicle has confirmed with Ferry Building reps that Golden Gate Meat Co.'s butcher shop is closing at the end of next week, August 20.

Ferry Building General Manager Jane Connors tells the Chronicle in a statement, "We had hoped to keep Golden Gate Meat in the marketplace, but we respect the owners’ decision to embark on the next chapter of their lives."

Founded in 1977 by the Offenbach family, Golden Gate Meat Co. was among the original tenants when the Ferry Building reopened in 2003 as a food-focused retail mall and restaurant hub.

Another original tenant, Cowgirl Creamery, shut down its Ferry Building location in March 2021, and just last week announced the closure of their flagship store in Point Reyes Station as well. (Cowgirl Creamery's founders, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, sold the business in 2016 to Swiss dairy conglomerate Emmi, which has since merged it with Humboldt County-based Cypress Grove.)

Chris Offenbach, who has been leading Golden Gate Meat Co. since 2004, had previously told the Chronicle that business was significantly down during the pandemic, and that the shop's lease was expiring in 2022.

Among the original Ferry Building tenants from 2003, only a few remain, including The Slanted Door restaurant (slated to reopen this fall), Gott's Roadside (originally named Taylor's Automatic Refresher), Far West Fungi, Hog Island Oyster Co., and Acme Bread.

New tenants have been moving in to some vacant spaces at the complex, including fish taco spot Cholita Linda, which moved in last fall, and Senor Sisig, which has not yet opened.

It seems probable that the Ferry Building management will seek to lure another butcher into the space being vacated by Golden Gate Meat Co. — Conners bragged to Bon Appetit in 2015 that the marketplace had "We want the butcher and the baker—we even have a candlestick maker. We're looking at the experience as holistically as possible... We want to make sure the building has the raw food ingredients shoppers need."

If you're a meat eater, you should maintain a good relationship with your butcher. Really, you should. Especially considering commercial agriculture and the reliance people place on meat from less reputable store (e.g., Costco), it's important to trust the place selling you your animal protein. Also of importance? Butchers the offer education and classes for those who want to know more. Here are our favorites in the Bay Area.

4505 Meats
The new little butcher shop at the edge of the Mission from longtime Ferry Building vets 4505 Meats is an excellent place to go not only to buy a pre-tied roast or a couple of well marbled steaks, but also to learn about what you're buying from the man himself, Ryan Farr. He makes his own bacon -- and his famed bacon-studded hot dogs -- and does cut-to-order steaks along with unusual restaurant cuts like culotte steaks. And as an added bonus, you can pop in here for a hot sausage on a roll any day of the week.
1909 Mission (at 15th Street)

Avedano's
Tucked away on Cortland in the tiny hamlet of Bernal Heights is Avedano's Meats and Holly Park Market, an old-school butcher and neighborhood market that keeps things simple, the way a butcher shop ought to be. The space has been home to a butcher shop for the better part of the last century and Avedano's owners (who opened the current store in 2006) respect the tradition with meats, seafood and exotic cuts from responsible sources and doing all their butchering in-house. If you can't get to Bernal, look for their meat wagon. Thursdays - Saturdays in Hayes Valley.
235 Cortland Street (at )

Prather Ranch in the Ferry Building. (Photo: Gary Soup)

Prather Ranch
Prather Ranch is a standard bearer for the Temple Grandin school of cattle farming, which says more than a string of buzzwords on a menu ever could. Responsible meat eaters will find they apply the same standards to everything they butcher: from pork to buffalo to poultry.
One Ferry Building, as well as farmers markets across the Bay

Bi-Rite Market
At either of the city's two Bi-Rite Markets you can regularly find lovely cuts of beef, pork, and lamb (for a price), all sustainably pasture-raised from local producers like Marin Sun Farms, Gleason Ranch, Devil's Gulch, Estancia, Llano Seco, and Don Watson -- all names you will also encounter on many Bay Area restaurant menus that like to tout that sort of thing. Also, they've got nice chicken and a typically swell selection of fish. Don't get us wrong, all the products are terrific and tasty. But we'd say unless a) you have a great deal of disposable income, or b) you're only cooking for you and a special someone you're trying to impress, or c) treating yourself, the prices might drive you elsewhere, especially when talking about a larger dinner party.
3692 - 18th Street (at Dolores)
550 Divisadero (at Hayes)

Meat threeway at Golden Gate Meat Company. (Facebook)

Golden Gate Meat Co.
This Ferry Building standby is a family-owned operation that dates back to 1977 (in other locations). They specialize in organic beef, lamb, veal, pork, and poultry, and they do dry-aging on premises. Also, as a large wholesaler, you can order pretty much anything from these guys, including all your unusual cuts and roasts and all your offal needs. Plus they make amazing pre-made burger patties, and they have their own line of dry-rubs to kick your grilling up a notch.
550 7th Street (at Brannan), S.F.
One Ferry Building, S.F.

Pork belly from the Fatted Calf. (Photo: fattedcalf.com)

Fatted Calf
Oh brother, is this place superb. The staff is wildly knowledgeable (sans any hipster butchery pretense) and the joint boasts excellent high-end and organic meats, plump homemade sausages, and gorgeously soft pâtés. SFist's personal favorites are the pancetta wrapped pork tenderloin, the beef chuck roast (great for slowcooker ragu), the duck rilettes, and the jars of Tonno di Maiale (pork cooked in wine and preserved in olive oil).
320 Fell (at Gough), S.F.
Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market, every Saturday 7:30am to 2pm
644 C First Street (at McKinstry), Napa

Cow and vista at Marin Sun Farms. (Facebook)

Marin Sun Farms
These guys are like the OGs of grass-fed beef in the Bay Area, and many chefs swear by them when it comes to sourcing steak, lamb, and goat. They're based in Marin, where they pasture-raise their animals, and they've got an awesome little butcher shop and daytime restaurant in Point Reyes, where you can chow on one of their amazing burgers.
Oakland, Point Reyes, and Ferry Building Farmers' Market locations

Inside Belcampo Meat Co. Marin County Mart. (Photo: belcampomeatco.com)

Belcampo Meat Co. Marin County Mart
This new operation up in Larkspur (they plan to expand to S.F. at some point) was founded by Eat Real fest founder and food revolution cheerleader Anya Fernald. Rather than remain just an activist and festival organizer, Fernald started Belcampo, with its own farms and slaughterhouse operation in Northern California, in the last two years, and they opened their first retail outlet and restaurant at the Marin County Mart earlier this year. Sure, prices are Bi Rite-like and higher (this is Marin), but you are getting some seriously nice meat with a sustainable pedigree at this place. (You can also just go for a meal at the restaurant to sample the stuff, if you like.) Look for Belcampo's online store to launch in November, to save you a trip north.
2405 Larkspur Landing Circle (at Lincoln Village Circle), Larkspur

(Yelp)

Piedmont Grocery
Noted for their meat department, Piedmont Grocery has drawn attention to meat that is organic, grass-​​fed, free-​​range and comes from local farmers -- well before it was chic. The place has been around since 1902. And their seafood department also pays close attention to sus­tain­ability and watch lists.
4038 Pied­mont (at Glen Avenue), Oakland

Honorable mentions:

Dittmer's Gourmet Meats (Mountain View, Los Altos)

Drewes Brothers Meats (San Francisco)

Bryan's Quality Meat (San Francisco)

Jay Barmann, Andrew Dalton, and Brock Keeling contributed to this article.

Pulled from the Glen Park Parents Board mailing list, we came across this urgent plea for help. See, the recently opened Whole Foods is hurting small meat business Drewes Brothers Meats, located in Upper Noe Valley at 1706 Church. (If you don't know Drewes Brothers, you don't know meat; and if you don't know meat, may God have mercy on your soul.)

A member from Glen Park Parents, who goes by the name of "Spring," says:

For those of us who eat meat and live in Upper Noe Valley, I want to let you know about the plight of Drew's Bros Butchers. They have been decimated in the past three weeks by the opening of Whole Foods. They have had to cut back on staff hours and things are not looking good. While I am highly supportive of Whole Foods as a good addition to the neighborhood, (I really think we needed a grocery store in our neighborhood and...I am from Austin, although I am appalled at the founder's stance on healthcare), I hate to see that come at the expense of a SF institution like Drews.

Did you know that they have been in SF for over a 100 years!!!?? They carry a wider variety of grass fed meets, local eggs, milk etc. Anyway, if you are a current fan of Drew's, please try to still support them, otherwise, we may lose one of the last real butchers in this city! It's cliche, but unfortunately true, "use it or lose it."

As many of you know, finding a good butcher is hard. To say the least. And while Whole Foods has a great butchery staff (say, unlike Safeway, where a simple question as to why a piece of Chateaubriand is marked down so low will get your the stink eye), the fine folks at Drewes, like their meat and poultry, are second to none.