Two regionally sourced butcher shops are in the works for downtown Astoria.

A couple is hoping to open Gulley’s Butcher Shop in the former Astoria Health Foods in June, while two local chefs are planning Astoria Stock Co. and searching for a location.

Glenn Gulley and his wife Diana have a real passion for butcher shops. The couple visits different butcher shops around the region, and Diana Gulley has even thought of writing books about the shops.

“I just love the feel of it,” she said. “You just go in there, and it’s like old school, and everybody’s like, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ You know you’re going to get something great.”

Her parents, Ken and DeLores Richards, own KD Properties and the building on Commercial Street next to the Liberty Theater that Astoria Health Foods vacated. To operate their shop, the Gulleys have brought in butcher Miles Peacock.

Originally from California, Peacock apprenticed at a butcher shop near his home and has worked at Marin Sun Farms, an all-inclusive farm, slaughterhouse, butcher shop and farm-to-table restaurant.

“It kind of gave me good experience for keeping things going on my own,” he said.

Peacock said the shop will start with a variety of beef, pork and lamb cuts, along with sausages, deli meats, charcuterie, salumi and rotating specialty meats. Along with meat, the shop will offer local cheeses, eggs, breads, vegetables, sauces and condiments.

The shop will use distributors such as Carlton Farms and Painted Hills Beef.

“Ideally, that’s just the beginning,” Peacock said. “What we’re really hoping to do is expand and get a lot more personal work with the local ranchers around here.”

Phil Spencer and Jake Martin, who have both been cooking in restaurants for more than 20 years, are planning to visit local farms as they plan Astoria Stock Co., a butcher shop they hope will become both a local source of meat and the knowledge on how to best use it.

Trying to find dinner for he and his daughter one day, Martin said, he lamented over the grass-fed beef from other countries being sold in supermarkets. “I don’t want her eating that, especially knowing what’s available in this state,” he said.

Spencer said he had been thinking of opening a butcher shop for a while. The pair, who both worked together in Seattle and most recently at Baked Alaska, decided to take lesser positions of responsibility and start spending time planning their butcher shop.

“If all the stars align and everything happens, it could be at least four months” before the shop opens, Spencer said.

Martin said Astoria Stock Co. will specialize in use of the entire animal, from steaks down to bones for bouillon, and dry aging techniques. “For those more obscure cuts, we can educate our customers on how to use those,” he said.

The two imagine holding educational dinners based around a single farm, and selling meaty snacks from charcuterie, sausages and hams to terrines, pâté and comfit.

“We also want a small but thorough Oregon wine selection,” Martin said, imagining customers picking up some wine and snacks before a trip to the beach.