A local crafts meats and goods shop is not only bringing locally sourced foods to customers, but they're showcasing the rich history of its building.
"You don't see no windows in here. You see these were all the original louvers that you see from the Piggly Wiggly," said Nathan Kolenovsky, who is the owner of Boarri Craft Butchery, as he flips through a photo book.
Kolenovsky said his building has a unique history which dates back to the 1920's.
"It was originally built by the Butt family as the second Piggly Wiggly in Corpus Christi," Kolenovsky said.
The Butt family is known for owning H-E-B grocery stores. Before that, they owned and operated Piggly Wiggly's, one of them being the building at 817 South Staples St.
"The H-E-B brand became formalized and they were no longer known as the Piggly Wiggly. And the manager at the time of the Piggly Wiggly was Mr. Chancellor, and Chancellor took over and it became Chancellor's Foods Store," said Kolenovsky.
In 1941, Chancellor's turned into a bowling parlor and after the bowling alley it became Superior Ice Cream.
"But don't know what happened to Superior Ice Cream and then it became Carnation," Kolenovsky said.
Then in 1961, Mack Matheny's Garage moved in and was an auto repair business.
At some point in the 70's, the building became Sara's Upholstery and was empty until Kolenovsky purchased the building in 2020.
"I wanted to make it look like, if in the 1930's and you came here, this is maybe what it looked like," Kolenovsky said.
Kelonvsky said he learned of the history of Staples street through his research, prompting him to save what he found out about his building, which was built in 1931.
Local shoppers said it's great to have fresh Texas based produce and meats.
"I like it because it's all locally sourced, cut to order, it's got great micro greens, vegetables, it's not just a meat market, its got the cheeses," Rick Holstein said, who was shopping for produce.
"I personally love history and I love this shop a lot and I've lived here for the last 16 years, and I really want this place to kind of stay open," said Michelle Petty, who was purchasing some meats.
"This is what we called the 361 strip. This is for Corpus Christi," said Kolenovsky as he shows us the cut meat.
Kelonvsky said part of their mission is to provide a neighborhood market with the opportunity to know where your food is coming from.
"We know this area is going to catch on, and really become part of the identity of Corpus Christi moving forward," said Kolenovsky.
The craft butchery is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
