Our Story

It Began

in 2010.

Co-founders James Peisker and Chris Carter met in one of downtown Nashville’s favorite kitchens. They immediately hit it off, and decided to jump ship to start their own catering business. As the business grew, Chris and James realized how hard it was to get their hands on quality, local meat from sources they could trust.

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"When our go-to farmers market stands inevitably sold out, we had nowhere to turn for high quality, local meat."

They made constant trips to the farmer’s market, but even there, the meat wasn’t cut properly, and was often sold frozen. Yet again, they decided to take matters into their own hands, and started their own butcher shop.

Today, Porter Road works with select farms, and expertly hand-cuts every piece at their Kentucky facility. While the butcher shop has become a cult favorite for people who live nearby, Chris and James realized that friends and family outside of Nashville were still stuck eating low quality, grocery store meat. In 2017, they decided to take Porter Road online with the goal of making the world’s best meat accessible nationwide.

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"We're able to oversee every step of the process, from checking in on our farmers to cutting custom orders."

The Founders

Chris Carter

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James Peisker

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Chris Carter "The Wildcard"

Founder

Chris Carter made his entrance into the restaurant industry when he was in high school, working as a busboy. He attended the University of Memphis, where he worked in restaurants both as a bartender and server, before leaving in pursuit of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona. Carter moved back to Nashville and worked at the Capital Grill at Hermitage Hotel. This is where he and James Peisker met. It wasn’t long before the two set off to do their own thing, and in 2010, Porter Road Butcher was born. Four years after the first shop was opened in East Nashville, TN, the two decided that in order to do it right, they needed to run and control the entire process. This idea led to Porter Road Butcher Meat Company, their processing facility in Princeton, KY. Now, Carter and Peisker have gone on to launch the newest addition to their meat empire, PorterRoad.com, the world’s first online whole animal butcher shop. PorterRoad.com is a direct to consumer concept that will change the way we shop for meat.

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James Peisker "Jaime"

Founder

James Peisker initially embarked on his culinary career when he was just 14 years old, working as a busboy in the diner that sat just across the street from his St. Louis home. After working his way up to a server, James was eager to continue his culinary education, so after graduating from high school, he spent time working in the kitchen at The Gatesworth where the chefs taught him the foundations of his culinary knowledge. He competed with the American Culinary Federation State Junior Team during the short time he spent at Forest Park Community College, an experience which eventually inspired him to attend The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Immediately after graduating, he spent two weeks studying at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine in China, and soon made his way back to St. Louis where he took charge of the city’s culinary scene. James became the roundsman at Old Warson Country Club and later became the sous chef at Niche, where he took charge of the restaurant’s whole animal butchering and really found a passion for the craft. He ultimately did a stage at The Butcher and Larder in Chicago and now teaches our Porter Road Butchers everything he knows. On the off chance that James isn’t working at the butcher shop, he can be found reading informational books about food, drinking plenty of whiskey, and cooking elaborate meals for his wife and daughter.

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