When Daxton (Dax) McLochlin and his brother Drew were kids, they used to stay at their Grandpa’s condo in the Saddlebrook Resort community when their family would visit Florida from their native Indiana. The McLochlin brothers loved visiting our area, with its much warmer climate and beautiful beaches a short drive away.
When Dax tore his arm up during his sophomore year at Huntington University in Indiana, he transferred to the University of South Florida hoping to walk on the baseball team.
When that didn’t work out for him, Dax worked a number of sales jobs, while Drew got a job working for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
The brothers had no idea at that time they would partner up with their entire family to open Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli in the Grand Oaks Plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Lutz.
“We loved this place called Rick’s Custom Meats + Deli in Plant City,” Dax says, “so we modeled pretty much everything about our store after theirs, when we saw that the Wesley Chapel area didn’t really have a great meat market. Without Rick’s, none of this would even be possible.”
Boneless certified Angus ribeye, NY strip and filet mignon steaks are the main stars in the Mac’s meat case and I can vouch for how delicious and tender all of those steaks are when you grill them. The meat case also features huge chicken breasts and wings, a variety of pork products (including beautiful chops and fresh bacon), as well as ground beef, Nathan’s Kosher-style hot dogs, beef jerky and more.
Dax says that on the first Saturday of pretty much every month since the store opened, Mac’s has hosted a “Grill & Chill” event where Dax and Drew’s dad Mike grills one or more of those delicious meats and the store sells plates of them with a side of chips and a drink, “to introduce our customers to some of the different meat options we carry,” Dax says.
To date, Jannah and I have enjoyed the hamburger, chicken and steak fajita and hot dog Grill & Chills, which also always feature one of Mac’s delicious self-branded sauces. Dax and I agree that the “Chick’n Dippin’ Sauce” is our favorite.
But, What About The Deli?
I’m so glad you asked. Mac’s, which opened with a different brand of sliced deli meats and cheeses for its sandwiches, switched over to Boar’s Head® brand a few months ago, “because it seemed like pretty much everyone requested it,” Dax says. “We definitely sell a lot more sandwiches than meat. And, all of our customers really seem to love our pressed Cubans.”
And, those Cubans come in a nice variety of options, including not only a traditional, with ham, pork, salami and Swiss cheese, but also turkey, ham & cheese and my favorite roast beef Cuban with Swiss (or provolone), all on fresh pressed Cuban bread. There also are “Mac Daddy” (with double the ham) and “Big Mac” (with double roast beef, turkey, ham and cheese) Cuban options.
You can even get grilled cheeseburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, pork and steak sandwiches at Mac’s. The grilled Boar’s Head pastrami and cheese pressed on Cuban bread also is a must-try, and all of the Boar’s Head meats and cheeses are available by the pound. There’s also tuna and egg salad, cole slaw, potato and macaroni salad available. And, all frozen meats are 30% off regular prices, with deeper discounts available on certain Wednesdays.
“Drew and I also want to give a shout-out to our entire family — our dad Mike, mom Jessi, my wife Macaley and my young son Chance” for being so supportive of us during this journey,” Dax says.
In other words, if you haven’t yet checked out Mac’s Custom Meats & Deli, please visit the clean, attractive shop soon — and please tell Dax and Drew we sent you!
Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli (26316 Wesley Chapel Blvd.) is open Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sat. It is closed Sun. & Mon. For more info, call (813) 428-6573, search “Mac’s Custom Meats + Deli” on Facebook.
