Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Thayer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Matt. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My partner Andy and I opened American Provisions in 2010. We had known each other for 10 years working in the restaurant industry and we were both interested in starting something of our own. We found the space and bootstrapped the build-out, doing the majority of the work ourselves.
We didn’t have a beer and wine license at that point, and we didn’t start making sandwiches until the following year but the mission has been consistent since day one.
American Provisions is a neighborhood specialty shop that strives to create community through great food and exceptional service. We have evolved in the products we carry and the amount of staff that provides service, but we are extremely proud that eight years later we show up with the same focus on creating community.
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?
Small business is never a smooth road! Its been an amazing 8 years, sometimes it feels like a blink, and sometimes it feels like it has been 25 years! All in all, we have been super lucky! We came into a neighborhood that was screaming for real food and that neighborhood has supported us since the moment we opened our doors.
For us, the challenges are always thinking about how can we make our business more sustainable. How do we pay our employees an honest wage in an industry that is hard on people? How do we grow business in a way that allows us to be faithful to our customers and community? How do we show up for each other in a healthy/productive way when shit is hard and stressful?!
These are the challenges we are dealing with every day/ALL the time!!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the American Provisions story. Tell us more about the business.
American Provisions is a neighborhood specialty shop that strives to create community through food and exceptional customer service. We sell artisan foods, sustainably made wines, craft beer and life-changing sandwiches.
I think I am most proud of the fact that we continually strive to be good neighbors and good employers. In the past year, we started a revenue share program with our employees and we practice open-book management. We tell (sometimes) funny jokes too.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t ever focus on luck. Good or bad. I feel strongly that we are capable of controlling one thing in our lives, ourselves.
I think luck always exists in small ways, but I attribute our successes and challenges more to whether we are able to show up in a good way and how we can work to do right by our employees, customers and producers.
Contact Info:
- Address: 613 East Broadway South Boston
- Website: http://americanprovisions.com
- Phone: 617.269.6100
- Email: info@americanprovisions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americanprovisions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/American-Provisions-176346992383274/?ref=ts
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprovisions?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/american-provisions-south-boston
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