St. James Town Steak and Chops

Mark Michelin was just four years old when his family opened St. Jamestown Steak and Chops on Parliament Street in 1971, and he says the butcher shop (and now, the adjoining deli) has been the backdrop of his life ever since.

“It was just a small shop; me, my mom and dad, and my brother,” says Mark. As a teenager, Mark used to work in the shop on Saturdays, and take Wednesdays off school to give his dad a day off.

Today, Mark manages a team of 16 employees and works around the clock to bring Cabbagetown locals the highest-quality meat and produce he can find. His long hours include early morning meetings with farmers at the Ontario Food Terminal. “On a market day I’m up a 4 o'clock,” he says. “And by the time I get home it's like 9 or 10 o'clock.”