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Last January, Seattle-based sustainable butcher shop Bill the Butcher announced plans for a Portland expansion, promising as many as 10 retail shops in the metro area.
But we'll have to kiss those grass-fed dreams goodbye for now, as the company has closed its six Seattle locations and halted all expansion plans while it sorts out a financial mess regarding owner/founder J'Amy Owens' mismanagement of funds.
Last week, Eater Seattle reported that all Bill the Butcher locations were closed while it concentrated on reassessing its finances. In fact, the company struggled with its finances for years. But now we know where all the money went. According to today's Eater Seattle post:
The Seattle Times is reporting that over the course of two years the cash-strapped company spent "hundreds of thousands" of dollars to help CEO J'Amy Owens purchase a $2.25M home in the Queen Anne neighborhood. The publicly traded company did not disclose to stockholders that its "corporate facilities" were where Owens lived with her family.
Eater's sister site Curbed has details and photos of the 5-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot house. Owens reportedly moved out last weekend.
