Major meat processor supply chains are among those interrupted by COVID-19, but Mount Isa customers who usually rely on the two big supermarket chains for their meat have instead inundated the town's three butchers with orders.
Butcher Barry Sloan said by mid-morning on Saturday he had sold a week’s worth of meat in just one day.
"We had a lot of new faces that I hadn't seen before."
Mr Sloan, who worked 40 hours over the weekend with his wife to meet demand, was buoyed to see lines of new customers out of his butchery's door.
"Hopefully we can steal a few customers from Woolies and Coles," he said.
"When I started my apprenticeship, there were 13 [butchery] shops in Mount Isa but now there's three left.
"It's a generational thing because the younger generations have gone to Woolies and Coles with their mum and dad, they just think it's natural to go [there] and get their meat."
A few kilometres away, Sunset Butchery owner Steve Clauson faced similar challenges.
"Last week or so we've probably been up a fair bit on what we'd normally do for the week."
High demand for cheap cuts
Karen and Ian Newson sell their grass-fed and grass-finished beef across Queensland and New South Wales and said they did not have enough stock to keep up with the current demand.
She said cheap cuts were proving more popular as cattle prices remained at an all-time high.
"[Because of the rain] there are plenty of people getting fat cattle out, but I think that will be absorbed by demand so I don't imagine prices will be going down," Mrs Newson said.
"People are getting cheaper cuts and are leaving the flash cuts to when they go to the pub or restaurant and get a steak there."
