Rolf Meyer, a German native, has dreamed about opening a butcher shop since he was 14 years old. Last fall, he made that dream a reality when opened Rolf's Deli and Sausages in Northport.  

Meyer moved to the Tuscaloosa area to work at the Mercedes plant in 2013, and when his visa expired, he had a decision to make. 

"I [decided] I [wanted] to stay in the United States because I really fell in love with [this] country," Meyer said.

He opened a food truck in November 2019 as a first step towards running his own brick and mortar business. Six months later, he sold the truck and purchased a building in Northport, and another six months later, Rolf's Deli and Sausages was open for business. 

Meyer said he transitioned from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar deli because of a personal dream he had since he was 14 -- to become a butcher with his own shop. Because of the limited amount of space a food truck provides, he needed a bigger building to be able to produce the products he wanted to sell.

"I wanted to have somewhere I can make my own sausages [and] bake my own bread," Meyer said.

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Meyer said he learned to make sausages as a teenager working in a butcher's shop in Germany, and said he uses the skills and knowledge he learned there in his restaurant almost 5,000 miles away. 

Rolf's Deli and Sausages makes almost every product that it sells in the store. 

"All the sausages and [baked goods] are homemade," Meyer said.

He also said he prides himself in only using the finest, freshest ingredients in his creations at the deli.

"For example, the sausages [are] just the pure meat with seasoning, and that's it," he said. "No stabilizer, no dye. We don't use any kind of artificial dye." 

Though Meyer has followed his passion and realized his dream, he said he still has big plans for the future. He is currently in the process of expanding his deli to include a café and bar that will exclusively serve European beer and wine. He said the bar should open in April. 

In his free time, Meyer also enjoys guitar and listening to music, and that his café bar will host a Saturday brunch featuring live music performed by local musicians.   

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