We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Luhowiak recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

My husband, Derek and I have been self employed the entire time we have been married. We started first with a small but mighty local food truck called Local Sixfortyseven and then after a couple of short years we decided that was too mobile and turned our focus to opening a bricks and mortar called The Whole Ox. The Whole Ox is going to celebrate its 13th Anniversary this coming September and one thing I am most proud of committing our time and passions to in the harsh, fast paced food and hospitality industry is trying to standardized the idea of the industry being sustainable to people not just the plants, animals and land that we eat from.
Way back when in 2011 we said that The Whole Ox would always be closed on Sunday and Monday this would allow ourselves and our staff to have a true “weekend” each week. Have two days off back to back, one being a Sunday which you can catch up with friends and family and the other being a weekday to run errands and get life done is truly unheard of in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
This idea also ran over into Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a New Years break for all employees.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Amanda Luhowiak Owner, Chef, & Butcher at The Whole Ox
Marshall, VA
Amanda’s deeply rooted heritage in Virginia’s Piedmont shapes her work as her work shapes the food
system of the region. The only daughter of an avid hunter, she grew up learning to process the animals
that she and her father hunted. A true native of Marshall, Amanda’s family has lived in this place since at
least 1769. Echoing her present, Amanda’s great-uncle once owned a butcher shop in Marshall.
Building on her storied ancestry, Amanda (with her husband Derek) opened a hyper-local food-truck
called Local Six Forty Seven (an homage to the local route that leads to their home) that focused on
grass-fed beef burgers and seasonal local foods. Much of the food they produced themselves, either by
growing in their garden or hand-making their own condiments, while other ingredients were sourced as
nearby as possible to support farmers in the region. By posting up at farmers markets and local wineries,
their food-truck gathered a loyal following and then led to wider prominence when they were featured
on Good Morning America.
Amanda continues to develop her skills and education in the field, as an alum of the James Beard
Foundation WEL (Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership) Program, in completing WSET Level 2, and by
participating in the Entrepreneurship at Cornell University program.
Founding of The Whole Ox
In 2011, Amanda and Derek traded the traveling food-truck for something more concrete,
establishing The Whole Ox in Marshall, VA, not only as a butcher shop to preserve the intricate and
artisan practice of whole animal butchery, but also to serve as a point of connection between the local
community and the farms who produce their food. The Whole Ox has been recognized in numerous
ways over the years including being selected as Virginia Living’s Best Butcher Shop and included in
Northern Virginia Magazine’s Best Restaurants.
Today, The Whole Ox serves as a colloquial food leader, be that through the advocacy of pasture-raised
meats, a market of local vegetables and goods, or a larder of wines, cheeses, stocks, and delicacies that
enrich the stomachs and lives of the people of the area.
Derek is a butcher and chef whose life-long commitment to the trade
has shaped his being.
Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, Derek attended the Pennsylvania
Institute of Culinary Arts while also working through the ranks of
storied Italian restaurants of the city of the time, lunging from
Garde Manger to Sous Chef by age 23.
In 2004, Derek relocated to Virginia where he served as the Chef
de Partie at L’Auberge Provençale (White Post, VA) and then as
Executive Chef at Ayrshire Farm (Upperville, VA), where he
oversaw all operations of product for the company’s restaurant,
retail shop, and meat processing facility.
Aiming to hone his skills in butchery, Derek studied at the

renowned C.Lidgate’s Butchery in London, followed by a three-
week tour of butcher shops around England and Wales, gaining

additional knowledge with each stop.
Bringing his enhanced repertoire back to Virginia, Derek (with his
wife Amanda) opened a hyper-local food-truck called Local Six
Forty Seven (an homage to the local route that lead to their home)
that focused on grass-fed beef burgers and seasonal local foods. Much of the food they produced themselves, either
by growing in their garden or hand-making their own condiments, while other ingredients were sourced as nearby as
possible to support farmers in the region. By posting up at farmers markets and local wineries, their food-truck
gathered a loyal following and then led to wider prominence when they were featured on Good Morning America.
In 2011, Derek and Amanda traded the traveling food-truck for something more concrete, establishing The Whole
Ox in Marshall, VA, not only as a butcher shop to preserve the intricate and artisan practice of whole animal
butchery, but also to serve as a point of connection between the local community and the farms who produce their
food. The Whole Ox has been recognized in numerous ways over the years including being selected as Virginia
Living’s Best Butcher Shop and included in Northern Virginia Magazine’s Best Restaurants.
Derek has participated with numerous organizations in recent years, including recently Certified Humane and The
Livestock Conservancy.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I guess this fills pivoting and resilience all in one example… There has always been challenges to being self employed and running small businesses but when Covid hit the world people were scared and confused. All kinds of rules and restrictions were being placed on restaurants and food based business, people could not be around one another, and our lives as we knew them came to a hault.
The Whole Ox was able to on a dime turn our business into something our community could not just rely on but also gain a small amount of safety and security from. Overnight, we closed our doors to the public, created an online ordering system, put a delivery rout in effect and were able to continue stock our guests and friends freezers and fridges with fresh local meats, produce and cheese, wines, specialty groceries and anything else we might be able to help them with. We still reflect back today and have been ever so thankful to our valued clients and friends for putting their faith and trust in us at such a difficult time.
We asked a lot of our employees to not leave their homes, be as isolated as possible and wear masks inside all day everyday to keep our team safe and working. We asked that we all go get vaccinated together and for our employees to do whatever was in their power to stay healthy and working for our community.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I believe that as our business is almost 13 years old we have been very good at what we do and also very dedicated to our community and our clients and this shows in all that we provide in both service and goodies. We have had a good reputation and it seems that people like talking to their friends and neighbors about experiences and food that they enjoy. Word of mouth has been an absolute blessing for us over the years. This is through actual word of mouth and also positive comments and shares on social media.
Cheers to all of our awesome friends and family over the years!!

Contact Info:

• Website: thewholeox.com
• Instagram: thewholeox
• Facebook: The Whole Ox