It’s been almost a decade since Matthew Secich opened Charcuterie, a popular meat market in the town of Unity that uses hand-cranked slicers, adding machines and other old-fashioned techniques that reflect the slower, more deliberate lifestyle of his Amish community.
But sometime next spring, 53-year-old Secich will be closing the business and moving with his family across the country to Marion, Montana, an unincorporated community in the northwest corner of the state.
He is still determining the exact closure date, which will likely come in May.
In an interview, Secich said his departure from Maine is primarily related to health complications from his military service decades ago in the Persian Gulf, which include inflammation in his hands.
“Living out west on a higher altitude with low humidity and in a drier climate is much better for my health,” he said.
Secich used to work as a sous chef at the glitzy, Michelin-starred Charlie Trotter’s restaurant in Chicago. But he eventually sought a change of pace and moved to Maine, where he became a part of Unity’s Amish community and started Charcuterie.
He does plan to take his business with him to Montana, though he must still find a new meat supplier. He’ll be moving out with his wife, their kids and his service dog Shadow, becoming one of the first families in a budding Amish community out there.
While the family is excited for the new beginning, Secich said it will be difficult to say goodbye to the establishment he’s run for the past decade.
Secich noted that he’s made more friends than he can count, with customers coming from all over Maine and beyond to buy his cheeses and hand-smoked meats.
“I truly believe that, really, meat and cheese is just an avenue to make friends, that’s all it is,” Secich said. “That’s the most important part. Money comes and goes, but a friendship can last a lifetime, and I can tell you that if there’s anything that I can truly boast about my life is that we, with the charcuterie here, have been so blessed to make a lot of friends. It’s just wonderful.”
