Anthony Puharich always knew he had "a burning desire" to work as a butcher. Yet his father didn't want him following in his footsteps.
Working full-time as a merchant banker, Anthony says dressing up in a suit made his parents beam with pride.
"When I floated the idea of becoming a butcher, he [Anthony's father] almost fell off his chair. He was pretty angry, he thought it was a huge waste. He wanted me to have a better life I suppose and get an education and do all the things that he didn’t do", Anthony told SBS.
Anthony has been following his passion for the past 16 years, selling premium meats to the country's best restaurants while also running the Victor Churchill retail branch with his father, Victor Puharich.
Anthony Puharich says his passion for quality is the main reason Victor Churchill is now a multi-million dollar business. Source: SBS news
The turning point
Victor Churchill is now a 100 million dollar business, but Anthony still remembers its early days as a wholesaler in a small shop in Oxford Street.
"My father and I didn’t know a lot about business but we knew one thing - and that was that we wanted to focus on quality: quality meat, quality service. So that was our real service", he said.
The big break for the business came when a chef from a prominent Sydney restaurant walked into Victor Churchill as a retailer.
"A couple of days later he rang up and asked if we supplied restaurants. I didn’t even know who this guy was at the time and so it was only after we said yes that we realised the magnitude of this customer. It opened up so many doors for our business," Anthony told SBS.
GFC impact
Anthony says he thought he would lose his business to the 2008/2009 global financial crisis.
"Retail butcher shops were going through a rough time. They were struggling to compete against major supermarkets and unfortunately, this store was one of them."
Anthony says the fear of losing the business prompted him to take action.
"I thought I can’t let this close and for it to be turned into a café. I approached the then owner and he was happy to let it go and we purchased it", he said.
With banks reluctant to lend during the GFC and little familial support, Anthony says he had to fund the entire business.
"The fit out of the shop was in excess of two million dollars, which is a hell of a lot of money in anyone’s language", Anthony told SBS.
Changing the image of the meat industry
Victor Churchill in Sydney has about 1,700 visitors per week - a large bulk who are tourists from interstate and overseas.
While traditionally butchers prepare meat behind closed doors, at Victor Churchill, meat is prepared behind a glass wall. There are no counters separating the customer from the butcher as well, allowing a "more intimate experience."
"I’m a very proud butcher; I’m a proud butcher’s son. I really wanted to showcase the art and the craft of butchery. It’s almost a glass stage, they can show their craft", Anthony told SBS.
“I don’t sugarcoat or hide the fact that Victor Churchill’s price point isn’t your average, but I challenge people to find the level of quality and craft anywhere. The attention to detail, the sourcing of the product, the quality of product is unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else."
Anthony Puharich says: "I really wanted to showcase the art and the craft of butchery. It’s almost a glass stage, they can show their craft." Source: SBS news
Victor Churchill branches exist across Australia, with a store in New York scheduled to open in 2019.
Anthony told SBS: “Frank Sinatra said 'if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere' and that's what we hope to do.”
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