Meridian Meats & Seafood

Meridian’s Walnut Grove shop is a straight-up butcher counter: no full grocery aisles, just meat, seafood and the things that go with them. It’s open every day until 8, which makes it an easy stop on the way home when you’ve realised there’s nothing for dinner.

At the counter

• Beef: grass-fed, grass-finished steaks and roasts
• Chicken and pork: free-run chicken and locally raised pork
• Seafood alongside the meat
• Ready to cook: house sausages, marinated cuts and prepared meats
• Butcher Bundles: several cuts packed together, good for stocking the freezer

Local maple bacon was $6.99 for 226 grams on their site when we checked. Store prices and stock can differ from what’s online.

The family

Darrell and Brenda Penner opened the first Meridian butcher shop in Port Coquitlam in 1989. Their eldest son Josh bought the business in 1996 and grew it, and the Walnut Grove shop opened in 2008. Today there are eight Meridian locations, still run by the family, with Kevin Penner and brother-in-law Brody McDearmid as partners. Josh was a runner-up for BCBusiness’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018.

Closer to home, Meridian became the Langley Events Centre’s food partner this year. The Meridian Farm Market Kitchen concession there carries their name, and they supply ingredients for it. They’ve also raised money for the Canucks Autism Network since 2015.

Good to know

Holiday hours can change. Online gift cards and in-store gift cards are separate systems, so check which one you’ve got before you go. Call 604-882-9464.

For more independent food shops, see Shop Local in Walnut Grove.