Belly of the Beast Floods Northampton With Sandwiches This Week

Two veterans of Boston’s restaurant world are ready to open a place of their own: Jesse Hassinger and Aimee Francaes will open the doors to Belly of the Beast on Wednesday, where they will show off a menu filled with local and seasonal ingredients along with thorough whole animal butchery.

Hassinger is an alum of Coppa, Hungry Mother, State Park, and Somerville butchery M.F. Dulock, and Francaes is the former human resources director for Flour Bakery and Myers + Chang. The pair hosted friends and family at the restaurant as a test run over the weekend and will fully open on Wednesday, June 7.

“We definitely had some moments of being in the weeds but overall it was an incredibly smooth day filled with warm, wonderful people,” they wrote on the Belly of the Beast Facebook page. “We are so in love with the happy valley community and can't wait to open our doors to the public on Wednesday.”

Belly of the Beast will accommodate sit-down and takeout diners, with seating for 40 to 42 people and a counter-service component, as previously reported. The menu includes appetizers, salads, and soups, but the sandwiches will be front and center, featuring Hassinger and Francaes’ mission of getting as much use as possible out of animal butchery. Featured items include scrapple, an item produced with meats that benefit from a long cooking time, along with pulled pork, bacon, and so much more. There will also be vegan and vegetarian items on the menu.

Belly of the Beast will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.

• Belly of the Beast Will Bring Scrapple and More to Northampton [EBOS]
• Belly of the Beast [Official Site]