CARLSBAD — Tip Top Meats has officially closed its doors after nearly 60 years of business.
Tip Top Meats owners announced in June that the beloved European-style meat market would close the doors to its 6118 Paseo del Norte butcher shop and sit-down delicatessen by Sept. 30 due to the lease expiring and rising costs for the business.
German immigrant Joachim “Big John” Haedrich opened Tip Top Meats in 1967 after relocating to Carlsbad from Glendale, where he previously operated a butcher shop. Over the years, the shop grew into a restaurant, grocery store, seafood counter, wine shop and catering service.
Haedrich, 94, died in January 2023, and his adult children took over the business.
Many local residents visited Tip Top Meats on its last weekend of business and took to social media to express their sorrow over the loss of an iconic local business.
“Thanks for all of the years you served our community in so many ways Tip Top,” said Rich Numrich on Facebook. “You will be missed. My grill will never be the same.”
Although the butcher shop has ceased operations for now, its owners hope to relocate and start the business back up as soon as possible.
“We are hard at work re-envisioning and reimagining Tip Top Meats as well as continuing to honor Big John’s legacy,” the shop’s June announcement read. “While our operations are coming to a pause, we believe they will not be coming to an end.”
The owners intend to update the public on social media with any new information about the business’s possible relocation.
