photo by: Paul Andrews

Lee Meisel, co-owner of Leeway Franks and Leeway Butcher, is pictured in Leeway Franks in 2015 holding a large ham.

A Lawrence butcher shop has been named as one of the top 100 essential independent butcher shops in the nation by Food & Wine Magazine.

Leeway Butcher, 935 Iowa St., was one of two Kansas butcher shops to make the list. The other, Bichelmeyer Meats, is in Kansas City, Kan.

The owners of Leeway Butcher, K and Lee Meisel, said they were surprised to find out they made the list. K noticed the shop was getting a lot more followers on social media on Sunday, so she did a news search for the business’ name and saw the Food & Wine Magazine article.

“We were surprised to see that — and excited,” K said. “It’s always nice to be recognized.”

Food & Wine Magazine’s list of nearly 100 butcher shops was created with “one very clear standard — the more sustainable, the more rebellious against the prevailing winds in a morally corrupt industry, the better,” the article said.

Leeway Butcher is a sustainability-minded, whole-animal operation that sources its meat from small, local farms, Food & Wine said about the business.

Lee, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota, stayed in Lawrence after graduating from Haskell Indian Nations University in 2008. The Meisels opened Leeway Butcher in 2018, three years after opening their adjacent restaurant, Leeway Franks.

photo by: Jeff Burkhead

Lee and K Meisel are pictured outside of Leeway Butcher, 935 Iowa St., in February 2020.