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To recreate his vision of the building, D'Ambrisi connected with Dean Bruno. Bruno saw the blank walls of the warehouse with the opportunity of creating something beautiful. D'Ambrisi and Bruno came together and bounced ideas off of each other. Aer much collaboration, Bruno went to work. He redesigned the building by himself, day and night, mainly using reclaimed products. Most of the bricks structured at e Butcher's Block were actually from a building that was knocked down in Sea Bright. ey did this as a way of trying to bring that building back to life. is ties into one of the core values e Butcher's Block holds dear—sustainability. Of course, no butcher shop would be complete without the butcher himself. Luckily, D'Ambrisi knew the right guy for the job. Armando Ferrante, also known as their "arm," grew up in Philadelphia working in a butcher shop. D'Ambrisi said, "He has this smile that is just contagious. We lost touch for a few years and we never really did anything. All of a sudden, I'm putting this shop together where I wanted to recreate the butcher and bring it back. And I said I know the guy, so I brought him in." e Butcher's Block has its meat coming from various sources. Some of their meat coming from South Dakota where they have a Meyer Natural Angus Program—no antibiotics, humanely handled and raised. ey also try to source locally. One place is Cloverbud Ranch in Rhode Island—known for its New England Grass Fed Beef. In New Jersey, a few places include Double Brook Farm in Hopewell and Skillman Farm in the North. ey reach out to these farms and have very close relationships with them as another way of bringing that connectivity back. V U E N J . C O M 111

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