About Us

Entrepreneur Paul Devitt started collecting antiques in the late eighties. From buying vintage diners to the furniture and fixtures out of a pharmacy with a lunch counter, beauty salons, and a shoe store, nothing was too big. Finally after many years and way too many storage bills his passion for collecting was reduced to objects he could fit in his pocket…matchbooks, primarily of mid-century bars and restaurants. “Matchbooks were the calling card of an era. Everyone, whether they smoked or not, took a couple home. They are works of art” says Devitt. Combing through his collection of thousands, sparked the idea for OLD FLAME an e-commerce site offering T-shirts using these images from bygone days.

OLD FLAME tees are available in a unisex soft cotton/poly blend that give them a vintage look and feel. Adult sizes run from XS-XL. Buyers can rest assured that they are buying something unique, which has never been made before.

OLD FLAME T-shirts are available through the online store at www.oldflametees.com and cost $25 each (free shipping), 50% of profits are being donated to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation (RWCF), an advocacy and action nonprofit founded in 2018 by and for restaurant workers, which is needed now more than ever with thousands of bar and restaurant workers unemployed due to the effect that Covid-19 has had on the industry. RWCF is a 501(c)(3) registered public charity.

Over the course of the past thirty plus years Devitt has opened and operated close to two dozen bars and restaurants across the country including Silk City, The Beauty Bar chain, Barmacy, Coral Room and most recently Sid Gold’s Request Room.