{"id":2458372,"date":"2020-05-13T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=325620"},"modified":"2020-05-13T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T11:00:00","slug":"meet-your-merchant-matt-pine-ajax-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/meet-your-merchant-matt-pine-ajax-supply\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Your Merchant: Matt Pine, Ajax Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.272\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-325620-581\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/villagevoices-svs-051320-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/villagevoices-svs-051320-1-1024x776.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Maddie Vincent\/Snowmass Sun | Matt Pine, owner of Ajax Supply, stands for a photo in his Snowmass Village hardware and supply store on May 11, 2020.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Matt Pine, owner of Ajax Supply, stands for a photo in his Snowmass Village hardware and supply store on May 11, 2020.<\/strong><br \/>Maddie Vincent\/Snowmass Sun<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/villagevoices-svs-051320-1-1024x776.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Matt Pine, owner of Ajax Supply, stands for a photo in his Snowmass Village hardware and supply store on May 11, 2020.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/villagevoices-svs-051320-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/villagevoices-svs-051320-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Maddie Vincent\/Snowmass Sun | Ajax Supply in Snowmass Village on May 11, 2020.\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Ajax Supply in Snowmass Village on May 11, 2020.<\/strong><br \/>Maddie Vincent\/Snowmass Sun<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/villagevoices-svs-051320-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Ajax Supply in Snowmass Village on May 11, 2020.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/meet-your-merchant-matt-pine-ajax-supply\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/meet-your-merchant-matt-pine-ajax-supply\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">For this month\u2019s Meet Your Merchant, the Snowmass Sun sat down with Matt Pine, owner of Ajax Supply, to learn about the village hardware and supply store and see how business has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis:<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">Snowmass Sun: So how long have you been running Ajax Supply?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">Matt Pine: You know, it\u2019s been since 2014. That\u2019s when we kind of got the ball rolling but we\u2019re going to have our five-year anniversary in August.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: And how long have you been in Snowmass village?<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: I\u2019ve been here, off and on, since 2002. I\u2019m originally from LA but my family\u2019s in Nevada. I moved out here when I was 16 and never looked back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: And what made you want to start a hardware and supply store in the village?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: I was working as a handyman and I felt like I did more driving than I did working. And I don\u2019t know, maybe I\u2019m a pushover and too nice of a guy to bill for all my drive time. So, there\u2019s one day where I\u2019ve been out for 10 hours and I only had about four and a half billable, and my wife\u2019s like, \u201cWhy are you only billing for four and a half hours, you\u2019ve been working for over 10.\u201d And I said, \u201cI\u2019ve been sitting in traffic, you know, going back and forth to Aspen, and part of it was totally avoidable.\u201d \u2026 I spent a lot of extra time driving to Aspen because I needed more stuff so I just said, \u201cYou know, this driving is killing me and I just really wish somebody would open a hardware store.\u201d And that kind of got the ball rolling, me wishing somebody else would do it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: And what has it been like running the store? What sort of need do you feel like it\u2019s filled for the village community?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: I try to fulfill every need I can in here. If you look around at our inventory it\u2019s kind of a little bit everything, and we\u2019re planning on going more that direction. We\u2019re planning on getting into pet supplies and office supplies just because there\u2019s nothing else in town and people hate that drive (into Aspen or elsewhere) when you only need one or two things. The less you need, the more annoying the drive is.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: Totally. And so as you know, the Snowmass Center is going to probably going be redeveloped in the next few years; how do you hope to see this store continue to evolve and grow moving forward?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: I\u2019m kind of excited about it because I would be very prominent, ground level, very easy to find. I would get customers that I don\u2019t get right now. People have to seek me out and track me down to find me. Some of my customers sound like they crossed the Sahara getting here, you know? They get so lost in the maze of hallways. So yeah, I\u2019m really looking forward to the new space, I think it\u2019s going to help me a lot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: Do you see yourself shifting what sort of inventory you have here, or what are kind of your goals with what you plan to offer moving forward?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: I listen to my customers. Whatever they tell me I need is what I carry, 90% of what\u2019s in here is done by customer requests. I started with the things I thought they needed and then it\u2019s evolved into what they actually wanted. They tell me what to get.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: How have things changed and shifted for you guys since the COVID-19 crisis started?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: I mean, the first couple months were kind of depressing. To be honest, I was wondering if we were going to make it. Our bank account just took a massive hit and we started borrowing a bunch of money and it\u2019s like this is not sustainable. This doesn\u2019t look good. So after about two months it was really scary and then the construction ban lifted and things started turning around. I would say over the last two weeks business has really jumped up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">I have quite a few friends in the restaurant world and if they survive it will be kind of a miracle, you know. I\u2019m in a much better position than a lot of the people and I\u2019m grateful for that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">SS: During a time like this when there is a lot of uncertainty and no one really knows what\u2019s going to happen. Why do you feel like it\u2019s important to have a store like yours, open that people are used to coming to?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText BoldIntro\">MP: We\u2019re the only place within 50 miles probably that has n95 masks and one of the only places that has latex gloves and one of the very few places that still has sanitizers. We\u2019ve kind of evolved with the virus based on the need, and we\u2019ve been going through different channels and just doing whatever we can to stay in stock of those things that people can\u2019t get anywhere else. That\u2019s important.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">We\u2019re just here to make people\u2019s lives easier. That\u2019s our whole mission.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/meet-your-merchant-matt-pine-ajax-supply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matt Pine, owner of Ajax Supply, stands for a photo in his Snowmass Village hardware and supply store on May 11, 2020.Maddie Vincent\/Snowmass Sun Ajax Supply in Snowmass Village on May 11, 2020.Maddie Vincent\/Snowmass Sun Show CaptionsHide Captions For this month\u2019s Meet Your Merchant, the Snowmass Sun sat down with Matt Pine, owner of Ajax [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2458372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-10 23:30:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}