Over a Century of Family & Craft

In 1904, a young German immigrant named Maximillian Trunz stepped off a boat in New York Harbor and opened a small pork store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He had no grand plan — only a simple promise: the finest meat, the fairest price, and a butcher who treats every customer like a neighbor.

That promise built an empire. At its peak, Trunz operated 85 pork stores across Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Staten Island, plus a 320,000-square-foot plant by the Kosciusko Bridge. Generations of New Yorkers remember the sawdust on the floor, the cold marble counters, and the way the butcher always slipped the kids a slice of bologna.

The brand survived two world wars and the Great Depression. Employees stayed for decades — some butchers clocking over 30 years at the same counter — because Trunz wasn't just a job. "People have tears in their eyes," said Greg Trunz when the last store closed in 2005. After more than 100 years, the chain that Max built was gone.

But the name never left the family. Charles, Christiaan, Maximilian, and Jack Trunz grew up knowing exactly who they were and where they came from. That one of them carries the founder's name — Maximilian — is no coincidence. It's a reminder. In 2026, the four brothers are bringing Trunz back: same green, same red, same uncompromising standards, and the same belief that a great butcher shop is the heart of a community.