Frody’s Salt and Smoke is a hidden gem. Located just off State Street on Malvern Avenue, it is a meat lover’s mecca. Frody Volgger has been working with meat since he was a boy growing up on a farm. He paid close attention whenever the butcher came around, and soon learned the trade.

Volgger’s passion led him to culinary school in Salzburg, Austria. After completing a five-year degree, he traveled and lived in Switzerland, South Africa, Southern California, and eventually Park City and Salt Lake City. Here, he opened  Vienna Bistro.

Then five years ago, Frody was diagnosed with colon cancer. He left his restaurant, and two years later is cancer-free. He attributes his success to a daily routine of juicing. Surviving cancer, he began working with Tony Caputo making sausages, and then he decided to strike out on his own once again.  Thus began Frody’s Salt and Smoke.

Sharing the space with Colosimo sausages, the two have formed a symbiotic relationship. He keeps much of his dried and cured meats in the front display case. In the back of the shop is a large area filled with machines that mix, fill, wrap and package the meaty delights.

Inside the curing room, chorizo, salami and other preserved meats hang from the ceiling, waiting for the day they are pronounced ready for sale. The temperature and humidity controlled room is carefully monitored by Frody to ensure the best end product.

If you are a lover of sausages, salami, and duck confit and would like to patronize a local business that utilizes local, hormone and antibiotic-free meats, pay Frody a visit. He’ll even process your harvested or raised meat.