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Avon’s hyper-local fish and meat market

Riley Romanin's own Co-gyu beef gets the dry-aging treatment on site.
Dominique Taylor Photography/dominique@dominiquetaylor.com

Riley Romanin wanted to sell the best, most local beef possible at his Avon shop, so he did what any overachiever would —  he found some Wagyu cattle for sale, hooked up with a local rancher, and started a herd. Naturally, he’s now raising his own Wagyu, what he’s calling Co-gyu, a nod to the cattle’s DNA plus its Colorado locale.

R Farmers’ Market started as a place to offer the top-of-the-line products Romanin uses in his Beaver Creek restaurant, Hooked, to the people of the valley — fresh, whole fish and local, high-end beef, lamb and pork. He had access to all of it, and wanted to share. He also had relationships with local farmers and culinary artisans, and began offering their items in his small, mid-valley store.

Whether it’s his own Co-gyu beef or another prime option, it’s handled by the on-site butchers at R Farmers’ Market.



“It’s an artisan craft to really do the butchery,” explained Romanin. “It’s about the passion behind it. And here we have an outlet to go straight to the source.”

“It’s an artisan craft to really do the butchery. It’s about the passion behind it. And here we have an outlet to go straight to the source.” – Riley Romanin, owner of R Farmers’ Market

It’s not just about the primal cuts — which are, it must be said, amazing. But it’s about the whole package. The pieces that need to be stewed and processed, the fat that goes into the sausage, the bones that get boiled down, down, down into bone broth.

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“Head to tail, we’re using every last piece,” he said.

He’s recently installed two dry-agers so that he can dry age in-house. He eventually intends to use them for fish, too. Dry-aging takes some of the moisture off the meat, condensing the flavor and increasing the marbling. It makes the meat more intense, more buttery.

“You get more flavor, and it’s richer,” he explained. “And it’s the new up-and-coming thing for fish, too. In big cities, you’ll see a couple shops offering that. We’ll be doing it, too.”

The fish case is stocked with fresh options of both whole and filleted fish, in addition to rotating shellfish, seafood salads and other selections.
Dominique Taylor/EAT Magazine

In addition to the butcher and fish cases, there are prepared sauces, broths and more. Though it changes daily, there might be a Bolognese sauce or French onion soup. But don’t miss the sausages. One of the toys Romanin bought along the way was, of course, a hand crank for R Farmers’ Market’s sausage program. Try the R 98, their signature “after-school-style” sausage. Or the Grostle, which is basically a peasant-style dish similar to hash, but they turn it into a sausage. The Euro Dog, currywurst and Co-gyu hotdogs are all popular.

“It’s just a bunch of love, all emulsified,” said the chef-butcher, smiling.

Artisan chocolates, pastas, tinned seafood, olive oils and conservas fill the shelves at R Farmers’ Market.
Dominique Taylor/Courtesy photo

The dry and canned goods make for delicious meals at home or fun care packages to send. Exotic chocolates, pastas and conservas pack the shelves. And then there’s the tinned seafood.

“It’s nothing too crazy,” Romanin said. “But it is what seafood in a can should taste like.” Since Romanin has such good taste, it’s easy to agree. 

R Farmers’ Market

51 Beaver Creek Place Suite 3
Avno, CO
970-688-5766rfarmersmarket.com

Price
Varies

Ambiance
Mid-valley gourmet
market with on-site
butchers and fishmongers

Signature Dish
Dry-aged anything


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