Tony & Pete’s sells around 400 to 500 sandwiches a day on average.
Credit: Jake Turner
Credit: Jake Turner
“We have more than doubled our sales in the last calendar year and things continue to grow rapidly year over year and even month over month,” Simmons said.
What to expect at the new space
The space at 133 E. Third St. will help the owners run a more efficient operation and greatly expand their storage and refrigeration.
“We plan on using this space to increase efficiency of our house made prep items, make larger batches, increase storage/refrigeration space, produce more signature items to stock at the main shop, run more frequent specials, take control of our bread baking operations, expand our catering capabilities and more,” Simmons said.
Since they are moving their prep operations into this space, they will be able to create a second “make line” in the sandwich shop.
“Therefore, reducing bottlenecks and leading to faster ticket times and increasing our abilities to take on larger catering orders during peak periods,” Simmons said. “We are pushing serious volume out of a very small kitchen space currently and this will allow us to make everyone’s lives easier.”
Customers can expect more signature menu items, more grab-and-go options, new and improved bread and an expanded front patio.
In addition, the owners plan to use the space as their administrative headquarters for meetings, interviews, onboarding of new team members, etc.
“The space is more of an extension of our current space as opposed to a new location,” Simmons said. “It’s also a move with the future in mind. As we open more locations, this centralized commissary kitchen will allow us to build out a strong infrastructure to support any new shops, both from a prep/production standpoint as well as administratively.”
Simmons hopes the new space will be ready sometime this summer as they convert the back into a food service space and add equipment like walk-in coolers and freezers, bread ovens, etc.
It will not be open to the public. Customers will continue to order, dine and pick-up from the current space.
What to get at the sandwich shop
For those that haven’t been to Tony & Pete’s or are looking to change up their order, customer favorites include the shop’s namesakes:
- Tony (roast beef, turkey, American cheese, roasted red peppers, shredduce, mayo and T&P vinaigrette)
- Pete (soppressata, provolone, red onion, arugula, tomato jam and chili oil)
Simmons recommends Stretto’s Spicy Salami featuring salami, parmesan, arugula, spicy spread and Calabrian honey or the Gabagool featuring capicola, provolone, pesto aioli, pickled red onion, shredduce, chili oil and T&P vinaigrette for those who like a little heat.
To drink, the shop offers a 10 oz. “lunch beer,” a pepperoncini martini and several nonalcoholic options.
Eyes on the future
“We’re excited to bring this space to life to better serve our community, to elevate talented team members into new roles and to continue to refine our operations,” Simmons said. “While this is an exciting and necessary move for the future of Tony & Pete’s, this is by no means the only expansion we are planning. We are in active negotiations for multiple new locations and we continue to have our eye on the future.”
The owners are seeking ways to “level up” and with the caliber of their team, they can’t wait for what the future holds.
“We are eternally grateful for the tremendous amount of support we have received and we don’t take it for granted for a single second,” Simmons said.
MORE DETAILS
Tony & Pete’s is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, visit tonyandpetes.com or the sandwich shop’s Facebook or Instagram pages (@tonyandpetes).
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