Antonio Boyd
Antonio Boyd (born in Montgomery County) is an entrepreneur and former owner of Mamanoes Grocery Shop on 2nd Avenue North.
Boyd grew up on a small farm owned by his father, a railroad conductor. He went into business for himself in elementary school, digging up earthworms to sell as fishing lures. In high school he made and sold candy apples and peanut brittle, and delivered textbooks for the school system.
He enrolled at the University of Alabama, but left before graduating to train for a management role in the Foot Locker sporting goods chain. He turned around a struggling store in Annapolis, Maryland and then took another management job with Wal-Mart, and then with Whole Foods.
Boyd returned to Alabama and completed his bachelor's degree in environmental science, and a second bachelor's degree in restaurant and hospitality management, along with a master of science. While in school he opened a small convenience store specializing in products that qualified for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women Infants and Children. That business proved unprofitable.
Boyd opened Mamanoes in July 2010, aiming to keep a fresh stock of anything anyone living or working in the Loft District might need. He tweaked the business constantly and made plans to expand to other cities. In July 2012 he opened a location in Atlanta's Midtown. He and his recent bride, Misty moved to Atlanta to operate that location, leaving his sister Regina in charge of the Birmingham shop. The Atlanta Mamanoes gained a reputation for being able to source exotic cuts of meat. It closed within a few months, though.
Boyd later expanded the "tasting parlor" which had operated in the convenience store's loft onto the ground floor, operating as a cigar bar and hosting special events.
References
- Kelly, Mark (January 12, 2012) "No More Corner Store: What Mamanoes Means to Downtown." Birmingham Weekly
- Diel, Stan (May 24, 2012) "Mamanoes, a downtown Birmingham grocery store, to open in Atlanta." The Birmingham News