Jacksonville’s beloved butcher shop, Cline’s Custom Meats, is bringing its celebrated cuts to St. Johns County.
Nestled at 1405 St. John’s Parkway, Unit 202, near Julington Creek Plantation, the artisanal abattoir promises to deliver the same quality and passion that has made its San Marco location a local institution.
For Joe Cline, expansion has been a long-time dream. “We felt the demand was there with our customer base, and the timing felt right for our business,” he says. “St. Johns County has always been on our radar. When the perfect opportunity came along, we didn’t hesitate—we jumped.”
The Clines’ journey began in 2018 with a small shop on Hendricks Avenue. Success there fueled a move to a sprawling 6,000-square-foot location a few blocks north on the same street, where customers could marvel at the full range of cuts and experience their private dining events.
The new St. Johns County location is more intimate—1,200 square feet—but Joe calls it “the perfect footprint for what we do.”
The space was born of serendipity. “A customer of ours is a commercial realtor,” Joe said. “I reached out while looking at different areas, and he said, ‘We have a spot coming up, but it’s not even advertised yet.’ We went in, and it was like a perfectly set stage—everything about the layout just clicked.”
A Family Forged in Meat and Hospitality
Joe’s expertise in the beef industry dates back to 2007, while his wife Milouda brings a rich, global culinary pedigree.
Milouda’s father was a butcher in Morocco and her brother owns a chain of shops there. She studied hospitality at university in Morocco and honed her skills at Disney’s Epcot in Orlando.
Today, she is the chef and culinary director for Cline’s private dining experiences, where she crafts six-course butcher’s table dinners that transform a meal into a celebration.
“Think steakhouse inside a butcher shop,” Joe says. “We focus on dry-aged prime cuts, from sirloin flap to tri-tip, rump caps, and hanger steak—cuts that most people don’t even know exist. It’s an experience as much as it is a meal.”
Beyond the Supermarket
Unlike mainstream grocery stores, Cline’s Custom Meats specializes in whole-animal butchering, showcasing the full spectrum of what a cow—or any animal—can offer.
Every piece is aged for maximum flavor, precision-cut, and presented with care. “There’s so much more to meat than the usual cuts,” Joe says. “We want people to explore that.”
Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Joe lived in Jacksonville in the early 2000s when he was stationed there in the Navy and returned permanently in 2011.
The new St. Johns County location allows the Clines to bring their craft, creativity and passion for meat to a new community primed for something truly different.
“Every time someone sits down at our butcher’s table or takes home one of our cuts, they’re experiencing what we love to do,” Joe says.
