Michael “Chef” Hincman

Lily Hamson

05.09.2024

UPS Store #5414, located in the Symphony area of Boston, is open seven days a week — just how Center Manager Michael Hincman likes it. Called “Chef” by all who work with him, Hincman is the bionic heart that pumps packages out of the city – and fast. 

He’ll kick the wall behind him for emphasis, do a series of push-ups on his knuckles by the register and move boxes like a one-man-conveyor belt to Mozart compilations playing from YouTube on the store’s computer. 44-year-old Hincman speaks loudly through a thick Massachusetts accent, born from a life roaming around the state, starting in Beverly. He now resides alone in Boston. 

He starts his day at 6 a.m. routinely with a shake suited for an athlete: double-chocolate-chip whey protein, dollop of peanut butter and frozen berry blend. He trains his mind with poker and classical music. Chef is always training. For what? For life, for anything. 

Hincman’s wiry gumption and overzealous nature are startling forces in his unassuming role. Customers don’t expect to be struck with a booming “Hello, my friend!” from behind the counter and all the orchestrated chaos he brings to every two-minute transaction.  The UPS store, unglamorous and tucked between a Five Guys restaurant and a series of nameless office spaces, is a harsh juxtaposition to Hincman’s room-filling enthusiasm. His lively spirit and full-body way of conversation burst through the beige-walled and bare-boned confines of the chain shipping store.

His nickname, “Chef,” is borrowed from his life before UPS, where he and two former business partners opened the Putterham Grille in 2011, a Mediterranean catering service and restaurant in Chestnut Hill. This group of three did the work of 15 and manufactured a successful dining destination from nothing, assuming the near-empty remains of the former restaurant that occupied the building. The Grille is still in business, but due to a falling out between the opening members, Hincman sold his 25% stake seven years ago. That brought him to UPS, and despite the bad blood between him and one of the partners — Hincman still vouches for the quality of the hummus. 

He’s been at UPS ever since his split from the Putterham Grille in 2016, and along with his nickname, Hincman also transferred over the same unrelenting hustle, “I am beyond glad to accept any sincere individual who is looking for a sincere product or transaction. Anyone who is not on the angle. Anyone who is coming to us with honesty and ingenuity. I don’t care if there is a line 20-deep for six hours. We will keep going just as long as there are nice folks here,” said Hincman with an ear-to-ear grin and a stomp of the foot. 

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

So Mediterranean food at the Grille, are you Greek? 

By association. When we first opened, we did focus on a lot of the dishes that have been enjoyed at [the restaurant that occupied the building prior to Putterham Grille] for over 70 years. After that, we branched out to anything and everything under the sun, which is not only pleasing to the senses, however, that which treats us well throughout the course of digestion. Thus, we can say with one thousand percent certainty that it’s gonna be nutrient-dense and it’s also going to be wonderful. 

All right, so given the food you served, it seems like healthy living is important to you. What does that entail?

When I do push-ups. This is how we do push-ups on our knuckles, my friend. All day! Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. 

Can you explain that a little more? 

What it means to be healthy is to seize the opportunity that each day presents and provides. 

Outside of physical health?  

Physical health is directly related to mental health. Thus, in the event that we do have the privilege to thrive physically, it will undoubtedly have a substantial impact on our thought process, on our mental health, how happy we are, on how we are able to affect others, etcetera, etcetera. 

It’s a circular system.

Yes. Our metabolism, our metabolism is that which drives us. Now, if we are able to provide for an anabolic state in our body, whatever that is, this is a muscle-building state. Regardless of our goal, whether it be for performance or aesthetics, this is the ideal situation because it means our body is operating on the highest possible frequency. This is directly correlated to the mental frequency. 

You have a lot to say on this. Please tell me more. 

That’s the craziest thing about life. It’s energy. Life is almost like “Raging Bull” with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. If we truly wish to live a sincere existence, it’s essential we look life in the face and allow it to slap us. Again. Again. Again. Again. And it’s those of us who just keep going, regardless of circumstance, that will have the greatest influence. Thank goodness it’s those of us who are of a pure desire and are innately benevolent with a caring and giving desire who will always be the strongest. 

So, when you’re saying it’s all energy, how did you come to this conclusion? Who taught you this? 

Life, I imagine. I imagine I must have been a very difficult baby to keep in the crib. I am an individual who strives and aspires to allow an impulse to transform and rebel correspondence without filter. It’s energy. Pure energy is not in short supply, it's everywhere, however, it’s a matter of timing as well as our willingness to accept it and continue it and do it again.

Well said. Are you a writer? 

I have in the past written. I had a trunk full of writings in my Subaru Legacy. 

You’re a store manager now, and a chef in the past. What else?  

Real individual. Genuine individual. A gentleman who wishes only to create a positive impression and provide assistance for those, who at no fault of their own, are seeking a positive thought. That’s what I want to do each and every day. 

Have you always maintained this level of positivity? It can’t always be easy. 

We’re all human. I may be only perhaps 1% left, you know, more of a machine terminator. Remember the Grille, I worked seven days a week, up to 100 hours a week, for seven years. I did not take a single vacation at the Putterham Grille. 

Wait. Did you seriously just say 100 hours a week?  

For seven years, I did not take a vacation. All right, between 70 and 100 hours a week — more often than not 100, and there is no disputing this. There was a time when I left the compound three times in 17 days. There was no option. There was nobody else. 

What were you doing all that time? 

When we started catering, I would wake up in the office. I lived in the office for 18 months. I was physically working until 11 p.m., midnight, 1 a.m. I’m doing production, preparation, theory, administration, balancing books, placing orders. Everything. 

Let’s talk about now. How do you keep going now? 

The push-ups. I will provide for a series of push-ups, on my knuckles. In the event that the glycogen stores are not sufficient for his time, I will A: Ask a confidant to assist until I am able to provide for a genuine effort, otherwise, I suck it up. I get it done. Who cares about us? Doesn’t matter. Get it done.