Today we’d like to introduce you to Anya Zelfond.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Anya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The idea for Gourmet Boutique was brewing for quite some-time. I grew up in Moscow and would frequently travel to Europe bringing back food gifts for friends in Boston. Who doesn’t love good food – right? People kept asking where they can purchases same treats in Boston. The answer was no-where so the idea for Gourmet Boutique solidified. I began to investigate what it would take to open a store in Boston on a shoe-string budget as I was in grad school at the time. I took a leave of absence when I found a store-front that I thought would be the right fit for my concept and one that I could potentially afford. I approached the tenants and basically took over their lease for them. It was a store-front selling scrimshaw and hand carved boat models. We had to do some renovation to make it suitable for my concept. The food scene was very different in 2004 as compared to today. Now you can find donuts with caviar back then caviar was reserved for the finer dining establishments and most of the chocolate on the market was full of preservatives, and quite unimaginative. The products I was looking to sell all had a story, were made by small food artisans and all gave you a desire to pause and savor the moment of indulgence. That is the Gourmet Boutique experience in a nut-shell.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think there is such thing as smooth sailing when running a business. We had delays with the opening due to some shelving supplier errors, we had a fridge that we ordered from Italy that was going to be the center piece of the display arrive completely shattered. There was no time to bring in a replacement that matched the design of the Boutique so we had to improvise. We were supposed to open before Thanksgiving and opened ten days before Christmas. I had a lot of inventory to move in ten days. Really put my sales ability to the test. I thought getting the store opened was a lot of work but it was just the beginning. Thirteen years later I still rarely have a true day off. In business you need to have unyielding confidence in your abilities and be ready to problem solve creatively. I had to fine tune my product selection during the recession and eliminate many products which was difficult as I had built nice working relationships with the suppliers and they were losing us a revenue stream when they needed it most. There are always little struggles when owning a business many out of your control like when we had terrible storms leading the city to shut down for days leading up to the holidays. You have to be a bit fearless and be willing to jump without knowing if there is a safety net. Just relying on yourself and your crazy work ethic.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Gourmet Boutique story. Tell us more about the business.
Gourmet Boutique is a tiny chocolate haven with the most chocolate per square foot you can find in Boston. We have a wide range of unusual chocolates such as those made of camel’s milk or those infused with tea, spices, herbs and flowers. But we also have quite a selection of craft, bean to bar chocolates both from US and around the world. It’s a chocolate dipped journey around the globe. Our selection is quite incredible, the passion that our team possess for the products is contagious. We are fanatical about our products especially our incredible selection of chocolate and we are not shy about sharing our passion with those walking in to our shop or engaging with us online. We absolutely love what we do! We love hearing folks share their personal stories and connections with the products. A memory from traveling abroad, or visiting their grandmother who always had a marzipan treat or a pate de fruit reserved for them. We had a gentleman propose to his girlfriend at one of our chocolate tastings. The woman had been a customer of ours when she was studying in Boston and was back for a brief visit. GB was a favorite shop of hers so we hosted a private chocolate tasting for the couple and at the end when her family showed up (unexpectedly for her) (we were in on the secret) he popped the question. In case you are wondering she said “yes”. Patrons frequently tell us it’s a retreat for them a place to pause in the business of their day. An escape to stop in browse our shelves, taste a sample of this or that and just discover or escape to a memory of a place they enjoyed visiting where they first tried the product.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
In my opinion hard work creates luck…
Contact Info:
- Address: Gourmet Boutique 10 Huntington Avenue Boston MA 02116
Inside the Westin Copley Hotel Mall - Website: www.gourmetboutique.net
- Phone: 617 266 2906
- Email: info@gourmetboutique.net
- Instagram: @GourmetBoutiqueBoston
- Facebook: @GourmetBoutique
- Twitter: @GourmetBoutique
- Yelp: Gourmet Boutique
- Other: Trip Advisor Gourmet Boutique
Image Credit:
Nick Minieri
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
