A culinary brand that has found success in Wilmington is expanding to the north.
 
Bobby Zimmerman, owner of True Blue Butcher and Table, True Blue Butcher and Barrel and Mariposa Tapas Bar, plans to open a bakery and butcher shop in Hampstead later this summer. The space, according to a news release “will serve as a retail space for the public to shop for bread, pastries, meats, wine, beer and specialty retail.” 
 
The new establishment, to be called True Blue Butcher and Baker, will occupy the building at 13865 US-17, near Arbor Landing, formerly home to The Pretzel Man. It will not offer dining, but be strictly a bakery and butcher shop, the release stated. The bakery will feature a wide range of breads as well as cinnamon rolls, seasonal muffins and chocolate chunk cookies.
 
“Executive pastry chef Mackenzie Clements has had her fair share of experience with pastries, desserts, and bread and will be a familiar face at True Blue Butcher and Baker,” the release stated. “Clements worked in a traditional Italian bakery in upstate New York, spent time making vegan and allergen-free desserts here in Wilmington, acted as assistant pastry chef in the Osteria Cicchetti group, and even had a short stint as a chocolatier.”  
 
The butcher shop will offer the same array of meats as are found at other True Blue locations: fresh cuts, DIY kits and butcher boxes. Selected seasonings, olive oil, and a collection of wines and beers will also be available – the latter chosen by True Blue’s wine director Georges Courgnaud.
 
“The bakery and butcher shop’s state-of-the-art, high-tech equipment left behind by Markus Schmid, the owner of The Pretzel Man, will allow for growth and efficiency for the True Blue brands to scale their operations while maintaining consistency and giving customers the same high-quality care to the food they expect at all True Blue locations,” the release stated. “The bakery’s former tenant has a strong and beloved history in the Hampstead community, and True Blue does not plan on ignoring that. True Blue Butcher and Baker is to offer pretzels in homage to The Pretzel Man.”
 
Updates on True Blue Butcher and Baker, can be found on Instagram at @truebluebutcherandtable or on Facebook.