“Hey Tommy!” is a phrase one will hear many shoppers say to the cashier at Tommy’s Value on a typical afternoon. Located at 47 Mount Auburn St., this family-run market has become a community staple in an area that lacks convenience stores, serving students and Cambridge locals alike since 2002. Though it briefly shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a lack of sales, Tommy’s returned in the fall of 2021, continuing to serve its patrons with basic groceries and convenience items. Four years later, the establishment has curated a strong network of supportive patrons, especially among the surrounding student body.
“With its central location and friendly service, Tommy’s is my go-to spot,” one anonymous customer said. “There have been many Friday nights when me and my friends stop by to get anything we need to start the weekend off right—snacks, suns, gum, and everything in between.”
Despite the widespread belief that his name is Tommy, employee “Md” Amanat Ulla has never met the ‘true’ eponym. But Ulla isn’t bothered by this ubiquitous misnomer. “My name is difficult,” he said. “I don’t mind.”
Between working as a cashier, cleaning the aisles, and restocking shelves, Ulla’s daily routine is typical for the average convenience store employee. However, the loyal Tommy’s customer base believes he brings more than just this conventional routine to his position.“My connections with them are very good,” he said. “A lot of students are my friends.”
This sentiment is shared by many college undergraduates, with some having unique memories of this establishment. One undergraduate shared a memory with “Tommy” when she decided to offer him a fun and elaborate story to buy a nicotine product. For five minutes, she was a visiting Yale field hockey player. “I was shitting bricks as I was coming up with all these lies on the spot,” she said.
Apart from Ulla’s strong student network, he is also a critical part of the Middle Cambridge community, providing locals with their everyday needs for decades.
As a convenience store near a university campus, Tommy’s sells a diverse range of products. According to Ulla, groceries, chips, and cigarettes are the business’s most popular items.
Tommy’s Value has created a strong community across Harvard Square, serving as a staple for students and locals alike. As these customers continue to support and promote this small business, looking to the future, Ulla looks forward to building upon the relationships he’s built interacting with customers, while meeting new people along the way. “They are supporting me already. They are very good.”
Kalvin Frank ’28 (kfrank@college.harvard.edu) feels like a valued customer when he shops at Tommy’s.