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Mount Vernon has a new destination for fresh meats and specialty foods after The Cut opened Feb. 14 in the Hollin Hall Shopping Center.

The European-style butchery offers beef, poultry, lamb, pork, seafood and charcuterie alongside produce, spices, wine and cheese. Its centerpiece is a tomahawk ribeye being dry-aged for 40 days over four blocks of salt inside a glass refrigerator.

Owner Alex Kilroy, who lives nearby, said business has started well and expects traffic to increase when warmer weather brings out grills and smokers.

Kilroy developed the idea after struggling to find a nearby steak that met his standards for a birthday cookout. He believes shoppers increasingly want to know where their food comes from and are looking for fresher alternatives to grocery-store meat.

The shop cuts orders to customers’ specifications, whether they want a one- or two-inch steak, a trimmed brisket, a whole chicken cut into pieces, an ounce of salmon or an entire fillet.

Seafood, pasta and vegetables are available for customers who do not eat meat or have dietary restrictions. Other imported and specialty goods include scone mix, Japanese fish sauce, Italian pasta and 88-ounce cans of Italian tomatoes, as well as sardines and squid packed in olive oil from Spain.

Several varieties of salt line the shelves, including butcher’s salt, fisherman’s salt and sel de Jardinier, a French sea-salt blend made with tarragon, garlic, parsley and chervil.

Kilroy chose the storefront facing Fort Hunt Road because the shopping center has what he described as a main-street atmosphere, a dense surrounding population and strong support for neighborhood businesses.

Before opening The Cut, he attended butchering classes in Sperryville, studied 20 butcher shops along the East Coast and visited farms to learn about cattle genetics, feed and water requirements. He said those conversations deepened his respect for farmers and helped him navigate the learning curve of entering the business.

The bright shop features large windows, a black-and-white checkerboard floor and clear display cases filled with meat and seafood. Behind the counter, Torpedo Factory artist Patrick Kirwin painted an eight-by-50-foot mural depicting a Virginia landscape. Kilroy said the scene was intentionally designed to feel as though it could be anywhere in the state.

The business works with Virginia farms and local seafood and produce wholesalers. The Cut is located at 7968 Fort Hunt Road, beside River Bend Bistro and Walgreens Pharmacy.