TASTE
Finches’ menu changes regularly, but the Bay of Pigs sandwich with crispy boneless pork shoulder and Swiss cheese on a Cuban loaf is a fan favorite.
Rare Bird Part restaurant, part retail — all Finches Written by SOPHIA LEOPOLD Photography by KENDRA FRANKLE
FINCHES SANDWICHES & SUNDRIES co-owners Miles and Rebecca Matthews heard on good authority that every day, an average of 40,000 cars cross the city via Victory Drive. Populated by superstores, sprawling parking lots and fast-food fixes, the thoroughfare is one of Savannah’s roads most traveled. Just off of this busy stretch, however, sits Mechanics Avenue, a quiet street in Thunderbolt featuring an immaculately preserved filling station, a second-hand wonderland (YES Antiques & Thrift) and now, the Matthews’ multifaceted, meticulously designed restaurant-meets-retail experience. In a few short months, the Matthews and their business partner, Jamie Pleta, transformed a 780-square-foot mechanics garage into a destination for takeaway daytime fare and retail therapy. Finches’ front of house features a boutique instead of indoor seating, but guests can linger outside, where clusters of wire chairs surround crackling bonfires on chillier days, and where it’s OK to sip champagne alongside a (thymeinfused) grilled cheese. Everything at Finches feels cheerful and cheeky, from the verdant AstroTurf to the turmericinfused pickled onions punching up the grilled eggplant sandwich — dubbed “The Inappropriate Emoji” — served on a retro, tangerine-hued tray. “I felt like [Thunderbolt] needed
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