In Soho, in the heart of the Nolita district, between luxury shops and trendy restaurants, a sign stretches out in red letters faded by time: Albanese Meats & Poultry. From the outside, you can barely make out the choice meat offered for sale, but instead, displayed in the window, old photos, press clippings and books on Little Italy set the tone.
This family-run butcher, set up at 238 Elizabeth Street almost a century ago, encapsulates a bygone era, in particular the memory of the last owner, Moe Albanese, who died of Covid-19 in April 2020 at the age of 95. Since her granddaughter, Jennifer Prezioso, a smiling and talkative 30-something, took over, the last of the eight butcher shops that once stood on the street has become a prominent address far beyond the neighborhood.
Very close to Moe since childhood, she had got into the habit of driving this grandfather to work, who lived close to her home, in the residential area of Bensonhurst, in Brooklyn: “My parents separated when I was 10 and every night Moe came to see me and my brother. Even after his long exhausting days, he found a moment to spend, he helped us with our homework. And in his old age, he came to live at home…”
Jennifer Prezioso, who then began a career as an actress, undertook to film it for a documentary project. Their long discussions, some of which take place in the old Honda of the butcher who smells of meat, give the young woman the desire to take a closer interest in the profession of her grandfather: “ His speciality ? The I GOT’CHA steak” (the “I caught you” steak), sirloin so tender that if he sold a piece to a new customer, he was sure to see him return! »
In 2017, Jennifer ends up getting involved for good in the family business. In less than a year, she learned how to cut this or that piece of meat and what the preferences of regular customers are. She ends up opening an Instagram account devoted to her grandfather (@moethebutcher), which soon recruits ten thousand subscribers. For three years, the duo thus became the mascot of Nolita, until they found themselves immortalized by the artist JR in his large fresco on New York.
“ I understood that if I wanted to save this place, I had to invest myself 100%”, explains the one who gave up playing on stage to continue to write the legend of this small business, in which the big brands like to associate more and more. After posing behind her stall for Nike, Reebok or Woolrich, Jennifer Prezioso is preparing to enter into a partnership with another brand to celebrate the centenary of Albanese Meats & Poultry in a few months.
Instagram: @prezwithaz