Yes. Thunderbolt. That was not a typo. (We tease because we love, right?)
It’s been said here and there a time or two that the best way to watch our food scene grow from the inside out is to find a way to get culinary talent to commit to Savannah long term. It’s a scenario easier said than done, of course, but it is beginning to happen.
The latest example is in the aforementioned Thunderbolt.
Finches Sandwiches and Sundries opens today. This is going to be a good one, in the most unlikely of locations.
“We met in Massachusetts, working at a Vineyard.” says Rebecca Matthews. “I was working in retail and also doing some marketing. Miles was one of the chefs.” Miles has serious skills in the kitchen.
This movie we’ve seen already. Boy meets Girl. Each become smitten and they decide to move. Maybe for better weather, maybe for a fresh start as a newlywed couple. In the search for that fresh start, Savannah came on to their radar. Miles searched for a job and landed as a Sous Chef at Husk Savannah downtown. I think we’d all agree that was a major landing spot.
We told you Miles has skills.
They found a cute house to live off of the beaten downtown path in Thunderbolt. Just across the way from Vertu Farms and the Old Dairy Farm. Like so many others, they loved it here. Nightly walks with their dogs was as much about meeting neighbors as it was exploring an historic neighborhood that was not only home to Bonaventure Cemetery, but also a lot of historic structures. Each with a story to tell. Including the one they found and are now renting as a modern sandwich shop and necessity store. You know, the kind everyone else is trying to call a bodega these days?
Thank goodness they didn’t, but I digress.
“We would walk by here regularly and I just loved everything about this area.” Rebecca says of the tiny 1950s ish building on Mechanics Road right next to an old gas station that’s been converted to an AirBnB that sleeps twelve.
But what to do with it? Enter Jamie Pleta. Rebecca met Jamie while working together in management at a downtown Savannah hotel. Rebecca had a vision, she shared it with Jamie. Once Jamie was on board, they approached the building’s owner at Yes Antiques and Thrift next door and talked her into renting it to them.
The plan was simple. Once they cleaned it up and made it Instagram ready, Miles would do the food. A very simple menu. Sandwiches, wraps, chips, fruit, drinks. You get the idea. The big difference is Miles is drawing on his experience in major kitchens to create this menu. They are partnering with local farms including Vertu right down the street in Thunderbolt to create seasonal offerings, not just something you’d get out of the back of a supply truck. They are also using Auspicious Baking Company breads. A very big deal.
The menu? Smallish and clever for starters. Skinny Italian is a thinly sliced Pork Belly Porchetta, spicy greens, aioli and a side of smoky broth. There’s a braised chicken sandwich, a grilled cheese and a peanut butter and jelly.
Yogurt and Bananas will satisfy the healthy crowd and a “Love your Roots” Vegan soup will satisfy that crowd this winter.
Do you get the picture? This is different for Thunderbolt and I think a welcomed addition. “Foodie” food. But I’m parking that word over yonder with ‘bodega.’
“Miles is a very talented guy.” says Jason Starnes, Executive Chef at Rhett in The Alida Hotel. “I am VERY excited to see what he does with their new place.”
“I had worked in tight spaces before at the winery.” Miles says “So putting together a menu that was easy to execute but still fresh was easier for me.”
On the other side of the tiny space are the grab and go items. Other than food. You might find a good looking sweatshirt, you might want a deck of cards, a frisbee or a candle. Heck, even the picnic baskets decorating the walls are for sale.
The goal is to create a one stop shop that this trio doesn’t believe exists in Thunderbolt. They see how much traffic comes and goes from the cemetery down the street on a daily basis but there is nowhere really for those visitors to stop and enjoy something creative and local.
“The kayak tour company down the street does a ton of business. Those people don’t have anywhere to stop and grab a bite either.” Rebecca says. “Now they will.”
That’s to say nothing of the potential to draw a lunch crowd from the immediate area. Across Victory Drive you have Tubby’s, Tortuga’s and the very popular Erica Davis Low Country . But what if you want something simple, like a hit and run sandwich or salad? Finches will now give you another option in that department.
Once the warmer months roll back around, the trio expect to offer their services for boxed lunches or catering to the nearby marina traffic coming through Thunderbolt on any given Spring or Summer day on the water.
In the short term, consider me among the thankful that they thought enough of Savannah to stay and build something new and creative where we can Eat It and Like It. Because I believe we will.
Finches Sandwiches and Sundries 2600 Mechanics Avenue Thunderbolt, GA 31404 finchessandwiches.com Open 7am-2pm Tuesday through Friday Open 8am-4pm Saturday and Sunday
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