Page 15 - BusinessWest February 6, 2023

next steps,” said McAmis, adding that he became intrigued by the possibili- ties — and by Hyde’s determination to take the venture to the next level and scale up.
Those plans started to material- ize quickly, but first — actually, at the same time — the business had to contend with the pandemic, which hit Northampton and its downtown, dominated by restaurants and clubs, extremely hard.
“We stayed open the whole time, but we weren’t open to the public, obvious- ly,” McAmis recalled, adding that, like other ventures of this kind, Provisions relied on pickup and delivery, which constituted new, and expensive, ways of doing business that had to be learned and mastered.
“Main Street was a ghost town,” he said, noting that he was making many deliveries himself, and could see that Provisions, State Street Liquors, and a CVS were essentially the only busi- nesses with lights on in that histori- cally vibrant area.
Overall, the pandemic was a learn- ing experience and test of the part- ners’ mettle, said Hyde, adding that, while business was brisk — sales bal- looned during the pandemic for many different reasons — business was also much more difficult.
“We had to completely pivot our business model and completely rethink how we worked with custom- ers and how we operated the entire store,” he recalled. “It was intense, and we made a lot of mistakes before we eventually got things ironed out.
“We were really lucky because we had attracted a staff that was really committed,” he went on. “I don’t think we could have done it if we didn’t have such a loyal and committed staff — it was extremely hard.”
Case in Point
But at the same time they were enduring the pandemic and its many challenges, the two partners were still thinking about expansion and that proverbial next level.
And, as noted earlier, that expan- sion has come about more quickly, and more profoundly, than they had anticipated in any version of that busi- ness plan, primarily because opportu- nities presented themselves, and they were determined to take advantage of them.
The first such opportunity came on King Street in North Amherst, with the opening of Bottle-O, what McAmis described as “an easy, in-and-out beer and wine store where you can grab some cheese.”
As for the expansion of Provisions, the two partners had long targeted Amherst and Longmeadow as the most logical communities to take their concept, and they started with the for- mer, primarily because opportunities in Longmeadow are harder to come
by. Specifically, they started in North
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Amherst and the emerging Mill Dis- trict, for which Cinda Jones, architect of that ambitious undertaking, became another of BusinessWest’s Top Entre- preneurs three years ago.
When Atkins Farms decided to leave its space in the sprawling mill complex, Jones approached Benson and McA- mis about taking that square footage. They did, recognizing an opportunity
to take the brand to a new area and a site that is rapidly becoming a destina- tion because of its array of shops and eateries.
The Amherst location opened in November 2020, still the height of the pandemic, and there have been some growing pains due to COVID, the
The new Longmeadow location came about rather unexpectedly and before
the partners were really ready, but they jumped on the opportunity.
Christina Royal, Ph.D. President
BREAKING BARRIERS. INCREASING IMPACT.
As a first generation college graduate, and the first queer, multiracial, and woman president at Holyoke Community College, Christina Royal, Ph.D., broke through her own barriers to success.
Now, she is helping our students break through theirs through her innovation and singular focus on their support, including housing, transportation, food insecurity, and child watch. It’s no wonder we were named a Top 100 Women-Led Business in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe and The Women’s Edge.
Holyoke Community College. You’ve got this. And, we’ve got you.
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