Over the last 40 years, Vincent Pacifico has been at the forefront of the meat market. It has taken many forms in many different companies but now in 2017 Vinnie is still at it and has started a new meat company called New York Prime Beef, providing the Metro NYC area with what they proudly claim to be the best steak on the planet.
In addition to leading New York Prime Beef, Vincent Pacifico (Vinnie) is alsothe chairman of several large meat companies including his first company, Vista Food Exchange. With $1.7 billion a year in combined sales with the companies he chairs, Vinnie is no amateur to the industry.
Vinnie’s partner in New York Prime Beef is Josh Tanner, a relative newcomer to the meat side of the industry, but no stranger to food. Josh was originally a chef, who turned businessman. Josh jumped into the retail world on the organic side of things and spent years at Whole Foods Market where he would handle their organic and all natural commodities. Together they have formed one of the most exclusive premium beef suppliers in the country.
Let’s talk meat, shall we? Vinnie and Josh are incredibly proud of their product. “We source our products from quality suppliers, we buy from the majors and for our niche market we look for the absolute highest quality out there,” said Vinnie. NYPB is located in Hunts Point NY, sharing a 56 acre site with 41 independent businesses all sharing central refrigeration adding up to create a fascinating level of collaboration. “All of these competitors sharing the same powerhouse for refrigeration, it makes us work together and it is really quite unique,” said Vinnie.
New York Prime Beef goes by the motto no compromise and that is exactly what Vinnie and Josh are able to do with NYPB. “We have essentially created a custom cutting facility and created a bespoke butcher shop. We deal with strictly the highest quality meat you could possibly purchase; we deal with USDA Prime, domestic Wagyu, and imported Japanese Kobe (pictured below).”
The pair of meat moguls compare their dry aging to the careful painstaking process that goes into making a fine wine, microbrew, or a smooth cognac. “It’s a very labor intensive and expensive process that’s not easy to do either. We have done a lot of research and a lot of trial and error before we could be confident in our 28 day dry aging process,” said Josh. New York Prime Beef’s dry aging process is one of the crown jewels to the business and the feedback has been spectacular. Dry aging is a hard process that if done wrong can give your beef a strong earthy almost mushroom like flavor. NYPB has received the customer feedback countless times that their steak is some of the most balanced they have ever had. It doesn’t stop there either; NYPB is always refining the process and offers custom dry aging too!
New York Prime Beef is proud of the customization options; NYPB offers custom everything from cuts to aging. The entire business model is built around the concept that when you place an order you have a fully custom order on your doorstep in 24 hours. “We don’t cut a piece of meat until you give us an order. All you have to do is call 1-800-STEAK-NY, tell us what you need, at that point we immediately send the butcher into the dry aging room to select the perfect, dry aged, steak hand cut to your liking,” said Josh. NYPB even goes so far as to have the butcher hand wrap and sign the steak with their seal of approval.
It may be the best steak in the world but unfortunately it is not available to everyone. Even with the large space they have for their dry aging room, the demand is just too high to sell to everyone. “Our business model was always directed as a consumer model, we were always open to the idea of restaurant sales and wholesale but we simply don’t have the space. We sell directly to some of the finest restaurants in New York City, and we have to be selective in the product that we give them since we are so quality oriented. Whether it’s a restaurant or if it’s for your kitchen table, NYPB wants to give you that wow moment. Vinnie, Josh and their team are dedicated to giving you the best steak on the planet, no compromise.
To learn more about New York Prime Beef, visit their website.
