Plant-based butcher shop to open in Hamilton Farmers’ Market

A new butcher shop is coming to town, Hamilton - but their offerings will be missing one thing you'd expect.

Meat.

Kerry Sobers and Celina Masoudi, co-founders of vegan fast-food spot Bring Me Some, will be opening Nonno's, a plant-based butcher, in the Hamilton Farmers' Market next month.

Masoudi told The Spectator that the butcher will be just like a deli, serving up house-made, Italian cold-cuts such as pastrami and corned beef on sandwiches as well as salads, lasagna and other plant-based fare.

The shop will also offer vegan cheese from Nuts for Cheese and Green Goddess Fromagerie as well as their vegan chicken" from Bring Me Some.

It'll basically be the same experience you could have at any of the butcher shops in the market," Masoudi said, in an interview. But it will be plant-based with a modern touch."

Masoudi said the idea for Nonno's started brewing when the pair moved Bring Me Some out of the market and up to Concession Street on the central Mountain. The name and concept for the butcher pay homage to Masoudi's Italian roots.

Returning to the market - and to the exact stall where their business began - makes sense for the butcher as they test out the concept in Hamilton, Masoudi noted.

The pair opened the fast-food spot in the market at the height of the pandemic, where they served up plant-based takes on fried chicken, burgers and other staples.

We know that the market is a great incubator for businesses to start," said Masoudi. And as born and raised Hamiltonians, we want to help make the market a destination."

Masoudi said the butcher shop concept will also provide Sobers with a creative outlet, as it's not focused on fast food, but instead homestyle vegan food.

Sobers was also recently named one of the best local chefs in this year's Hamilton Community News Readers' Choice Awards. He also won in the vegetarian, chicken and fast-food categories.

We're really hoping for the best," said Masoudi. It's been a great ride so far."

Nonno's is expected to open in mid-May. The shop will be located on the bottom floor, just across from Truong's Produce.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the last names of both Celina Masoudi and Kerry Sobers. The Spectator regrets the errors.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com