Bellow Butcher Co. turns one in downtown Wendell

The butcher shop at 8 N. Main St. in downtown Wendell reaches its first anniversary this month. Bellow Butcher Co. opened in October 2025, WRAL reported on March 27, 2026, and its owners, Chris and Lauren Gass, have since opened Daughter’s Soft Serve next door at 6 N. Main St.

The couple met in a butcher shop and worked in restaurants in Wilmington and in Nashville, Tenn., before opening Bellow, according to the company’s website. The site says they started the shop to get away from the long hours of restaurant work and to build a steadier life for their family. The Wendell Chamber’s member directory describes Bellow as a family-run butcher shop selling wagyu and dry-aged beef, house-made sandwiches and pantry goods.

What the butcher shop sells and what it charges

Bellow’s posted price list on October 1, 2026 included these cuts, according to the company’s website:

• Prime New York strip is $23 a pound, and ribeye is $27 a pound.
• Dry-aged ribeye is $31 a pound.
• Filet mignon is $29 a pound, and filet tails are $19 a pound.
• Japanese A5 wagyu is $16 an ounce, or $192 a pound.
• Australian wagyu runs $45 to $65 a pound.
• Bone-in pork chops are $14 a pound, and boneless chops are $9 a pound.
• House-made sausages are $3 each, and house-made 6-ounce burgers are $5 each.
• A whole chicken is $16, and duck breast is $12 each.

The website says prices can shift with the market, bulk discounts are available and special orders need 48 hours of notice. The shop also makes deli sandwiches and charcuterie plates, and its featured sandwiches change every month, according to its menu page. Bellow offers catering for pickup and full-service catering for events.

Bellow Butcher Co. is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to about 6 p.m., according to its website, which lists no Sunday or Monday hours. The phone number on the website is 919-366-6470.

A change to the ground beef deal

In a September 16, 2026 post on its website, the shop said its Saturday ground beef deal had drawn long lines and crowding, and that the deal was changing. The new terms in the post are:

• Ground beef is $5 a pound, tax included, for cash buyers from Tuesday through Saturday.
• Buyers paying by card are charged $6.75 a pound.
• Each customer can buy up to 5 pounds.

The post says the shop would rather be a place where people grab beef and a sandwich and get to know the staff. “Knowing your neighbors is cooler,” the Bellow Butcher Co. post says.

A second post the same day said the shop’s monthly butcher box memberships were underway, with members picking up their first boxes, and that 20 more memberships had opened for the October box. Members get 10% off in-store purchases on pickup days and can pause or cancel at any time, according to the post. The post did not list a price for the box.

Daughter’s Soft Serve opened next door this summer

In its March 27 roundup, WRAL reported that the Gasses would open a soft-serve shop next door called Daughters, “in honor of their two daughters.” WRAL said the shop would take over the former Creative Cone ice cream space and was expected to open in May.

Raleigh Magazine reported on June 30, 2026 that Daughter’s Soft Serve was “now serving” traditional and dairy-free soft serve in downtown Wendell. The exact opening date was not stated in that report. The shop’s own website lists its address as 6 N. Main St. and describes it as a family-owned, chef-driven soft-serve shop.

The website lists four soft-serve choices: classic vanilla, chocolate, dairy-free vanilla and a seasonal flavor. Customers can add a core, which the shop describes as a filling placed down the center of the soft serve, and a dip, a hard shell that sets around the cone. The website lists these options:

• Core fillings include brownie batter, marshmallow fluff, dulce de leche and Bing cherry.
• Dip flavors include chocolate, blueberry, peanut butter, birthday cake, clarified butter and butterscotch.
• Toppings include Daughters Sprinkles, peanuts, eclair crumble, strawberry shortcake, Biscoff, Nerds, gummy bears, fruity flakes and maple flakes.

The website does not list prices or a phone number. Daughter’s Soft Serve is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. and is closed Monday and Tuesday, according to its website. The posted hours of the two shops overlap Wednesday through Saturday.