Dave the Butcher: Now or Never Studio Redefines Hospitality Design with a Human Touch

By: Kimberly Porter | Dave The Butcher

From Butcher Shop to Cultural Gathering Place, Jamie McGlinchey’s Reimagines How Design and Storytelling Come Together

In the heart of Brooklyn, a new creative force is taking shape—Now or Never (NoN) Studio, founded by Jamie McGlinchey, the former Design Director at Sweetgreen. After helping scale over 150 store openings across the country, McGlinchey brings a unique perspective to the world of hospitality design: one rooted equally in systems thinking and soulful craftsmanship. Her mission is simple yet radical—to build spaces that don’t just look good but work beautifully from the inside out.

For her studio’s first project, McGlinchey teamed up with first-time restaurateurs Melissa and Dave Mountain, co-founders of Dia Beacon Café, to create Dave the Butcher, which is a concept that’s part working butcher, part neighborhood hub. The design draws on Melissa’s Basque roots and Dave’s devotion to slow craft, blending European market energy with a contemporary Hudson Valley sensibility.

Every inch of the space tells a story. Hand-forged steel shelving frames both product and view; integrated millwork merges seating and display; and richly veined marble unites the butcher’s counter, café tops, and window table with effortless harmony. Even the building itself participates in the narrative with a vaulted archway leading to the backyard that connects the kitchen and butcher’s station, ensuring that every cut, every conversation, feels part of one seamless experience.

The result is more than a restaurant. The space is a living symbol of how thoughtful design can anchor community, influence brand storytelling, and elevate daily rituals. With Now or Never, McGlinchey proves that hospitality can be strategic and intimate all at once, reshaping how places are imagined, operated, and remembered.

Explore Dave the Butcher at https://www.davethebutcherny.com/ and follow on Instagram.

For more on Now or Never Studio, visit https://www.nowornever-studio.com/.