Meet Sallie, the One Who Calls You Sweetheart

It’s Whitt. If you’ve been in the shop any time this past year, you already know Sallie — she’s the one who’s called you “sweetheart” or “dear” before the door’s even shut behind you. She just celebrated one year with us, so it’s about time you got a proper introduction.

Sallie runs the front of Whitt’s Place, and I mean runs it. She works the counter, keeps our books in order, and handles the social media — if you’ve seen a photo of the case looking its best, or a post that made you hungry at nine in the morning, that was probably her doing. She has a hand in a good bit of what Michael puts up in the back, too. Ask our regulars and half of them will tell you they come in as much for Sallie as for the meat.

From Arizona to Tazewell

Her family came out from Arizona, and she’ll tell you straight: “Nothing this side of the country came close to Tazewell!” The trees, the creeks, and most of all the people. They put down roots here and never looked back.

She met us about four years ago through Ms. Sunshine Whittlee herself — that’s my daughter. The two of them got to know each other working at Ace Hardware together, and Whittlee brought her around to the shop. What Sallie loved about the place is the same thing we’re proudest of: clean meat, clean food, and a business built on supporting local farmers. A year ago she came on board for good, and the front of the shop hasn’t been the same since — in the best way.

Rogue Springs

When she’s not up front, Sallie’s on her family’s homestead — three generations on the same land, better than forty goats, chickens, a garden, and just about everything on the place built from the ground up by their own hands. That homestead is where Rogue Springs comes from, the family’s line of handmade goods.

You may have already picked up their whipped tallow body butter off our shelf — skincare made the old-fashioned way, from good clean tallow. It’s the kind of thing you try once and then start buying for other people.

Pasta, and sauces on the way

The newest thing out of that homestead kitchen is the one I’m most excited about: handmade artisan pasta, made in small batches by Sallie and her daughter-in-law Becca under their Delfino Kitchen label — semolina from Italy, pasture-raised farm-fresh eggs, and not much else. The recipes come from lessons handed down by Sallie’s mother-in-law, and it’s stocked on our shelf right now. They tell me sauces are next, and I’m holding them to it.

Come say hi

Sallie’s up front most days. Come in for a roast or a pack of steaks and she’ll point you to the right cut, tell you what’s new on the shelf, and send you out the door feeling like family — sweetheart, dear, and all. Congratulations on one year, Sallie. Here’s to many more.