Leadership Corner: Mattson Davis
Interviewed by Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Name: Mattson Davis
Age: 40
Title: president
Organization: Kona Brewing Co., which has restaurants in Kailua, Kona on the Big Island and in Hawai'i Kai and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
High school: St. George's Preparatory in Spokane, Wash. Graduated in 1983.
College: Attended Portland State University, where he studied socio-economic geography because "I love people ... and how weird they are."
Breakthrough job: "Working at a place in Portland called Jazz De Opus and Opus Too. I loved taking care of people as a busser and as a server. I really enjoyed a guest coming in with an expectation and exceeding that expectation and having them walk out feeling their belly full of sustenance and their head slightly swimming, saying that was great, that guy was on it — that whole thing — the instant gratification of the tip."
Little-known fact: "I like to collect koi fish. I have a koi pond. People are surprised that I like something so calm and tranquil. Mattson's the guy that's always trying to get two gallons of water in a one-gallon bag. I have a lot of energy, always trying to do too much, always making connections."
Major challenge: "Managing growth while finding good employees in an extremely low unemployed market and really finding the motivation buttons. What's their juice? What are (employees) going to be excited about?"
Book recently read: " 'Blink,' by Malcolm Gladwell. It's about our subconscious taking in information that our conscious is not aware of about people and maybe even about ourselves. I'm fascinated about people, the choices they make, what motivates them, the demand that ego has on us."
Hobbies: "I'm pretty limited there. I like to go to the Mainland and ski. I like boating but I don't have one. I run a bit. I consider that a mind-cleaner."
Mentor: "My partner and mentor, Cameron Healy. He's the primary owner of Kona Brewing. The two of us have 90 percent ownership of the company. His son, Spoon Khalsa, has the other 10 percent. Sometimes, in the early part of our relationship, we would discuss a problem and he would empathize and end the conversation with, 'Good luck with that.' I'd say, 'No, man, you're supposed to tell me what to do.' He said, 'I am not running this company. You are.' I know he knew the answers and he could have easily told me what to do. He's just this incredible coach and mentor and friend."
Q: Kona Brewing was recently named the 10th fastest growing brewery in the nation by the Brewers Association with 87 percent growth in 2004 (from 16,883 barrels to 31,192 barrels). How did that come about?:
A: "It's based on your percentage of growth. In '03, then in '04 we did 31,000 barrels and change. We have one brewery in Kona, Hawai'i, which does our draft beer for the Hawaiian Islands, and a secondary brewer in Portland that does our bottled beer and the draft beer for the Mainland market. In '97, '98 we got rid of bottling here. We were losing money on every case. The shipping on the bottles (from the Mainland) was $2.10 for a case of just empty bottles. Then you add all of the freight costs on grain. Then you've got electricity. I'm in Kona where it costs 22 cents a kilowatt hour for power and I use a lot of power. In Portland, it costs only 7 cents per kilowatt hour. So we found a way to work with somebody on the Mainland, leasing their facility, to brew our beer and get their efficiencies.
Q: How hard was it philosophically to have some of your beer under the Kona label be brewed on the Mainland?
A: "It was very hard. We really, really wanted to maintain all of our authenticity, to be a Hawaiian product and brand. But I believe that we've done that because of our recipes and quality. I would save $800,000 per year if I brewed all of our beer on the Mainland and we had no brewery here. But we don't want to do that. We wouldn't get all these fun speciality beers that we win these awards for. It would take away the authenticity."
Q: How do you retain and recruit employees while Hawai'i has enjoyed the lowest unemployment rate in the nation seven of the last nine months?
A: "We want them to understand they are a major part of delivering the brand. And when you get done working a shift, you get a free pint of beer and you can buy additional pints at a discount. We serve employees off the menu and don't charge for it. After you work for Kona Brewing Co. 30 hours or more a week for a year, we will give you — at no additional cost — health insurance with vision, dental, prescription, the whole nine yards at no cost. We give you long-term disability to age 65 and life insurance and a matching simple IRA, as well as one week's paid vacation. We had one guy who was homeless a couple of years ago and you should have seen the pride that he had when he got a week's paid vacation. For managers, we also have a Pub Council of senior restaurant mangers at both locations who get together to share their ideas about eight times a year. We incentivize our key management in three areas: profitability (profit sharing), unity and teamwork. They also get bonuses based on retention of employees and culture, leadership."
Q: Why did you select Hawai'i Kai for your O'ahu location?
A: "I didn't want to be considered competition to the bulk of our business, which is the wholesale of our brand. You can buy our beer on draft at places like Duke's Waikiki, Hula Grill, Lulu's, Tiki's. If I opened in Waikiki, imagine how many people would have considered us competition. Secondly, we felt Hawai'i Kai had a need for a $20 check average. We wanted to bring the Neighbor Island feel to the city."
Q: But there were problems, initially.
A: "We came into Hawai'i Kai and really got kicked. We weren't prepared for the city folk. We sent out a bunch of Pop Warner players against the NFL and they got hit pretty hard. We did well with the country in Kailua, Kona, where people sit around old electrical spools for tables. The city folk had so many choices and such expectations of our brand of beer and where they had been drinking it. ... But it turns out that O'ahu wants to visit the Neighbor Islands but it doesn't mean that's what they want to be. So I had to add a full bar and increase the entrees."
Q: Any other expansion plans?
A: "I'm always looking. It will be well into next year before we ink anything. I'd love to have a distillery and do a rum or an okolehao, the old ti leaf white lightning. And we've looked into soda companies."
