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Clemson’s Chop Shop deli cuts the mustard — and everything else

S.L. Wallach //April 19, 2024//

The chopped sandwiches have been a hit with college students in Clemson, while foodies are drawn to the exotic meats selection. (Photo/The Chop Shop)

The chopped sandwiches have been a hit with college students in Clemson, while foodies are drawn to the exotic meats selection. (Photo/The Chop Shop)

The chopped sandwiches have been a hit with college students in Clemson, while foodies are drawn to the exotic meats selection. (Photo/The Chop Shop)

The chopped sandwiches have been a hit with college students in Clemson, while foodies are drawn to the exotic meats selection. (Photo/The Chop Shop)

Clemson’s Chop Shop deli cuts the mustard — and everything else

S.L. Wallach //April 19, 2024//

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If you hear the term “chop shop” and think of a backlot full of car parts, you may be disappointed not to find a carburetor for your ’57 Fairlane at 1353 Tiger Blvd. in Clemson. But you may leave with a bottle of wine, a fresh-cut steak and a sandwich to hold you until dinner.Andrew Fisher manages The Chop Shop for entrepreneurs Mike Richardson and Daniel Bianco. (Photo/The Chop Shop)

The Chop Shop butchery/market/deli is open on the busy boulevard also known as U.S. Highway 123/76.

“We’re going for that New York deli feel, where you can get your meats and cheeses and beer and wine all at once,” said Andrew Fisher, The Chop Shop’s manager. “We’re a one-stop shop. We have our own in-house seasonings. We have local honey from Mr. B’s. We have a local cookie lady from Anderson who bakes our cookies.”

And in keeping with the shop’s name, Fisher adds, “we take all the ingredients that you request for your sandwich — say, roast beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo, whatever your ideas are. We load them up on a cutting board, take an eight-inch cleaver, and chop it all into a fine-chop medley, so you’re getting a taste of every ingredient whenever you take a bite of your sandwich.”

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It was a matter of expanding a concept that The Chop Shop’s owners, Mike Richardson and Daniel Bianco, found via a viral social media video. “The TikTok video was an Italian sub,” Fisher said. “We decided to mold it into a business model. Chopped sandwiches, subs, salads. … Everything is chopped.”

The Chop Shop also has an exotic game cabinet, stocked with meats such as kangaroo tenderloin, ground camel patties, wild boar sausage, French venison racks and bison ribeye. The shop also sells its own rendered beef tallow.

The Chop Shop, which is located a mile from the Clemson University campus (“The chopped salads and sandwiches are a college hit,” Fisher said) is open Tuesdays though Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

 

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