Staff Chat: Skinny’s Fat Sandwiches-Alex King
Bianca Moorman
Skinny’s two locations– Oak Bluffs and Edgartown– will not disappoint the hungry customer
looking for a bite on the cheap. So for this week’s staff chat I sat down and talked with Alex
King, the founder, owner and manager of Skinny’s at his Oak Bluffs location.
This Week: So how did Skinny’s get its start?
Alex King: Well, I went to culinary school and I did fine dining for a while. I worked at a
restaurant down the street and you really couldn’t get a good sandwich at that time. It winding up
being a stepping stone, but as time went on it became something bigger.
TW: What do you think makes Skinny’s different from places on the mainland like Subway or
Jimmy Johns?
King: First, we are not a corporation. I am here working every day and people that have been
with me for a long time are working here every day. Everything is fresh and made from scratch
and using really good products.
TW: I heard that Skinny’s is serving coffee now, right?
King: We have always served coffee, but we have never been that coffee spot. But now that
Mocha Motts had their unfortunate disaster with the pipe break a lot of people have been coming
to us for coffee. So just by demand we had to expand the coffee.
TW: Have you seen a change in business since you started serving coffee?
King: Not a dramatic change but more people are coming in for coffee. Like I said that everyone
used to go to Mocha Motts which are our neighbors for years and years. Since they are not open
right now, instead of going there they come to us.
TW: Where does Skinny’s get its coffee?
King: It’s called Wicked Joe’s. It’s organic and it’s a small company in Maine.
TW: What kinds of coffee do you have?
King: We have espresso; we don’t have decaf because it really doesn’t sell all that much. We do
have a new flavor called Jamaican Me Crazy. It is like a vanilla kind of cola flavor, which is
starting to get popular.
TW: Nice. And Skinny’s has breakfast too, right?
King: We have doing breakfast for years but it's picked up since the upsell of coffee in the last
couple of years. We have freshly made bagels every day for sandwiches, too.
TW: Gotta love those East coast bagels, huh?
King: Yes, the bagels are delicious. We do eggs on a fresh bagel, not in a microwave but made
right to order. We have recently expanded some smoked salmon, cream cheese and getting a
little fancier. Everyone’s been liking it. It is fast and easy when you have go to work.
TW: What are some of the more popular items?
King: Everyone loves the buffalo chicken, steak and cheese and the cheeseburger sub. All the
Serbian’s love the Cuban. It really depends on what month because there is a different
demographic. The younger kids really like the chicken Caesar wrap or the chicken fingers sub.
TW: Do you guys have late hours for those Serbian nights across the street?
King: Oh yeah. This guy has been with me for four years now, Adam Konopinski. He runs the
Edgartown store and he comes here Sunday nights. Last night (Sunday) was our third Serbian
Night and it is growing definitely.
