New Owner Brings Fish to Malverne Prime Meats

isn't just about meat anymore. In recent weeks, the butcher shop on Hempstead Avenue has started offering seafood as well but it's not the only change that's happened there.

After running the business for 25 years, John Guardino, 47, has decided to retire, handing over the reigns to the chop shop's new owner, Kal Gullapalli.

Gullapalli, 30, purchased the business in January, around the same time he moved to Rockville Centre with his wife. Although he's never worked in a butcher shop before, Gullapalli told Patch he has a strong business background and "a real passion for meat."

"I've eaten at some of the best steakhouses around ... and I've always wondered where does the meat come from?" he said.

Growing up in Michigan, Gullapalli worked at a Little Caesar's pizza restaurant throughout high school and college, rising to the ranks of manager. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he spent the next seven years working in retail, but decided he wanted to turn his attention back to the food industry.

"I always wanted to own a small business too," he said. "So I decided to blend my two passions together."

Through a broker, he learned that Malverne Village Prime Meats was on the market and after spending some time in the store, he was sold on the friendliness of both its customers and its staff.

"It was a community I felt comfortable joining," he said of the village of Malverne, and quickly learned the butcher shop is one of its "mainstays." It's been around since 1961, when customers were required to make appointments to purchase meat, he explained.

Because the staff is so experienced - some have been slicing meat since they were only 5-years-old - Gullapalli said he doesn't mind that they tell him what to do.

"John's done a phenomenal job running this business. He's basically made it mistake-free," Gullapalli says. "We are not changing anything, just adding."

Gullapalli will continue to use the same meat suppliers, saying the quality of the products is "superior" and therefore, doesn't need any fillers or additives.

"John always say, 'Don't take shortcuts,' which we are not going to do," he said, adding that customers would notice if they switched to lower-quality meat. "We want to keep everyone happy."

After listening to customers' feedback, Gullapalli decided to add seafood to the store's offerings, even though he's highly allergic to it. You can now get tilapia, sole, flounder, salmon, catfish, crabcakes, raw and cooked shrimp, and bay and sea scallops. They are ordered every morning and delivered fresh from a supplier in Freeport.

He also plans to add more convenience items like Italian bread, and expand same-day delivery to a 2-3 mile radius.

"Treat people as you want to be treated," was Guardino's advice for Gullapalli. He said it's this philosophy that has made the butcher shop so successful and why kids who he once slipped free samples of bologna to years ago are now shopping at his store with their children. "We have the best customers."

Guardino, a Malverne native, says it's "bittersweet" to say goodbye to the store he has owned for a quarter of a century.

"I love what I do, but I'm getting old and this job is for young people," he said. His final day at the store will either be at the end of April or the moment his daughter gives birth to his first grandson, whichever comes first. He'll then begin his well-earned retirement down in Florida.