A century-old Jefferson County butcher shop is finally bringing its counter to Tallahassee. Johnston's Meat Market, which has processed meat in Monticello since 1926, is opening a second location at Killearn Village Square in Leon County, with owners hoping to welcome customers by the end of 2026.
A Long-Awaited Move Closer to Tallahassee Shoppers
The new butcher shop will sit at 3628 Shamrock St. W., adjacent to Killearn United Methodist Church and near The Country Flower Shop and Ming Tree Cafe, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. For at least one nearby customer, the new shop will be just four miles from home, a dramatic change from the 30-minute drive they previously made to Monticello for Johnston's sausage and beef, the paper reports. The market announced the expansion on Facebook following its Aug. 29 game-day commercial, telling followers that “what started as a dream of bringing Johnston's to Tallahassee is officially becoming a reality.”
Johnston's is currently remodeling the interior of the Tallahassee space and says the timeline depends on how smoothly that work and other preparations go. The store will carry the same locally sourced meats, country-cured smoked products, and hometown customer service the brand has built its reputation on in Monticello, per the same account from the Democrat, including items like its brown sugar sausage.
From a 1926 Meat Locker to a Regional Processor
The business traces back to 1926, when Felix and Alice Johnston opened a meat locker plant at a time when home refrigeration was still rare. According to the Flower Hill Institute, the market operated primarily as a community meat locker rental service before expanding into custom livestock processing. The Johnston family's daughter took over the business in 1950, a period during which the market expanded its reach throughout Florida and Georgia, per the Democrat's reporting.
The business reached its third generation in 1997, the same year it expanded into a retail space, meat counter, and cattle and hog processing facility. It later became a USDA-certified meat processing plant serving Florida, Georgia and Alabama, growing from a trusted local market into what the Democrat describes as a community cornerstone with more than a century of history.
New Ownership, New Growth Strategy
Patrick Figueroa joined Johnston's as general manager in 2022 after leaving a career in corporate America, and he became owner of the business alongside his family in December 2024. The Democrat reports that Figueroa has guided the business toward new heights and toward growth and sustainability, a trajectory that now includes the Tallahassee expansion.
As part of that push, Figueroa partnered with the Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance program in 2026 to navigate regulatory requirements, explore potential organic certification, and prepare an application for a USDA Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program grant, according to the Flower Hill Institute, which provides technical assistance to independent U.S. meat processors nationwide.
Statewide Recognition and a Role in Hunger Relief
The Tallahassee announcement comes on the heels of statewide acclaim. Johnston's Meat Market was voted “Best of Florida 2026” in the Meat Shops category by readers through Guide to Florida, a distinction that landed just days before the new store's public unveiling.
The market also plays a role beyond retail sales. It is one of a select group of USDA-inspected Florida processors partnering with Feeding Florida's Beef Recovery program, which turns donated mature cattle into ground beef for food-insecure families. Protein is among the most requested yet least donated food categories at Florida food banks, according to the organization. The Monticello hub at 1480 W. Washington St. also serves as an official regional distribution pickup point for the Red Hills Online Farmers Market, connecting livestock producers within a 100-mile radius directly with local consumers.
Entering a Crowded Field of Local Butchers
The Monticello plant sits roughly 25 miles east of the new Killearn Village Square storefront, according to Visit Jefferson County. That distance has long meant Tallahassee-area fans of the brand had to make the trip themselves, a gap the new store aims to close.
Johnston's will now compete directly in a Leon County market that already includes established independent butcher shops such as Revel's Meat Market, Star's Meat Market, and Mack's Market, per images cataloged on Wikimedia Commons. The Monticello location has also fostered its own culinary offshoots over the years; Glazed Over Bakery & Deli, known locally for its homemade donuts and fritters, originally operated inside Johnston's before expanding into its own standalone storefront in 2023.
