Part One: Did you know we turn 20 this year?
February 27, 2026
Birthdays, you see coming. Ditto for marriage anniversaries (well, most of the time).
But Supervox’s 20th revolution around the sun? We were alerted by a postcard from the Minnesota Twins, congratulating us on our longevity and inviting us to book a party room at Target Field.
Indeed, 20 years in this business IS a big deal. Our longevity makes us a true industry outlier.
The fact that we didn’t even see our anniversary coming brings into relief just what we’ve achieved. It’s not the kind of accomplishment chronicled in an Ad Age ranking. The evidence of our success is that we’ve been enjoying ourselves so much that we lost track of how long we’ve been doing it.
We haven’t been working for two decades. We’ve been playing.
Okay, maybe we should have focused more on the work side. Had we done so, perhaps we’d be writing this post from our corporate retreat in Zermatt. But who can complain when their careers can be summed as “Time flies when you’re having fun?”
Here’s the other thing about our turning 20: When we founded Supervox, we didn’t think of it as a new beginning in our lives. It just felt like another chapter in our careers. After all, all three partners – Tim Sauer, Tim Alevizos and Matt Wilson – were already industry veterans. It was the experience we gained as employees of other organizations that emboldened us to set off on our own in 2006.
Tim Sauer started working as a graphic designer well before Supervox was born. To support his music career, Matt Wilson learned how to code and eventually transitioned to full-time work in web design. And Tim Alevizos commenced his professional life as an editor at PBS in Washington, DC.
The two Tims began working together in 1998 at a boutique branding/design agency in Minneapolis called Kuester Partners. It was there that Tim Sauer created the Figlio, Manny’s Steakhouse and Buca di Beppo brands for Parasole restaurants, and where he and Tim Alevizos helped grow Buca, Chino Latino, and numerous other restaurant concepts.
In 2001 Kuester Partners was absorbed by a larger marketing agency that also acquired Bitstream Underground, an ISP provider where Matt Wilson was working. At that time we also met Greg Dahlager, our first staffer. The four of us became colleagues and friends, and in 2006 we launched Supervox.
What prompted us to make the leap?
Two things. The first was our desire to choose our own clients and work in an environment where we could best exercise our talents.
We wanted to do what we love, with people we love, for people we love.
Right off the bat, we called our business “A Creative Agency for Ambitious Brands” – a callout to prospective clients who have a drive and passion to create something great. Their ambition fuels ours.
Second, we had the benefit of going to market with a client already in hand: Parasole Restaurant Holdings, a company we worked with since the days of Kuester Partners.
Under CEO Phil Roberts’ leadership, Parasole has operated some of the most successful, distinctive restaurants the Twin Cities has ever seen, including blockbusters like Figlio, Buca di Beppo and Oceanaire Seafood Room (all of which we had a hand in creating), as well as powerhouses like Good Earth, Chino Latino, Manny’s Steakhouse, The Living Room and Prohibition at the W Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh Blue, along with the dearly departed Salut Bar Américain, Burger Jones, Mozza Mia, Uptown Cafeteria, Il Gatto, Stella’s Seafood Café, Libertine, and Field Day.
Want to know how far back we go with Parasole? In high school, Tim Alevizos was hired to photograph food for Pronto Ristorante, and later he wrote menu and ad copy for Parasole’s Blue Point restaurant in Wayzata. Just a few years later, in 1987, Tim Sauer created the Manny’s brand.
Fast forward to today: We just updated the Manny’s and corporate Parasole websites and will soon debut a new site for the Living Room and Prohibition.
But as deeply as we’ve immersed ourselves in the restaurant industry, Supervox has worked hard not to be pigeonholed as a hospitality-only agency. In fact, we’ve progressed in ways that none of us ever imagined, much less planned.
