For more than seven and a half years, Babe’s Meat & Counter has been a mom-and-pop butcher shop and deli in Palmetto Bay, owned by husband-and-wife duo Jason and Melanie Schoendorfer.
It’s become a go-to for locals who know their meats, their sandwiches—and especially their mouthwatering signature “Babe’s Burger,” a fresh-ground blend of prime and Wagyu beef that sizzles to perfection in the kitchen.
“We’re a little bit of a custom butcher shop,” said co-owner Jason Schoendorfer. “We focus primarily on premium meats and all sorts of heritage meats. And then we’re also a sandwich shop—so we take a lot of those great products and we make delicious sandwiches with them.”
His Canadian-born wife Melanie Schoendorfer runs the meat side of the business and is passionate about making quality meats accessible.
“We believe that everyone should have access to the best proteins around,” Melanie said. “We live in a wonderful neighborhood—we want people to be able to come here a couple of times a week, pick up an affordable piece of meat that’s fresh, delicious, and made with love by us.”
She added, “We love this neighborhood, we love our customers—we’re like family.”
That neighborhood connection runs deep.
Twin sisters Kelsie and Katie Perdomo grew up going to Babe’s.
“I just love the people and the place,” said Kelsie Perdomo. “It feels kind of like a family—and that’s what I love most about it, especially in Palmetto Bay. We don’t have that many places like this.”
Katie Perdomo added with a laugh, “My dad thinks he’s a celebrity here. He probably comes at least once a week. He says that if he doesn’t come once a week, they might think that he died—which is kind of insane, but…”
During Hispanic Heritage Month, Babe’s homemade bacon croquettes are a big seller—along with their house-made bacon.
Jason Schoendorfer, whose father was from Cuba, takes pride in the shop’s Cuban sandwich, which reflects everything he grew up eating.
“We were just featured in a national food magazine as one of the top Cuban sandwiches in Miami,” he said. “I was very, very, very proud of that.”
“We take great pride in making most of the ingredients in the Cuban sandwich—pretty much everything but the cheese,” he continued. “It’s our house-smoked ham, we roast the pork as well, our house mustard, we make the pickles, and we even bake the bread off here too.”
The result? A sandwich that’s truly special. The fact that everything is made from scratch shows in the sandwiches.
Next, The Italian sandwich—with roasted pork shoulder, spinach and provolone cheese on homemade bread—also hits the mark.
“That’s what we try to do,” Jason Schoendorfer said. “We want food to make people feel good.”
Babe’s Meat & Counter is open seven days a week.
