‘Small town friendly feeling’ at new Arthur Sandwich House

ARTHUR – It’s a sandwich shop meant to add to Arthur's small town charm.

Since the grand opening of the Arthur Sandwich House on George Street last month, co-owner, Param Patel, said the warm welcome from the community continues.  

“Me and three of my friends run the shop. We started from scratch, with a new menu and everything. We are so excited to bring this to the people of Arthur,” Patel said.

“When we see people liking our food, we feel more connected to everyone. People come by, they are friendly, they want to chat. It’s not just handing them their food, they pay, and they go. People are interested. They want to stop to talk.”

Prior to being the Arthur Sandwich House, the last business at the same location was called the Sandwich Club, which closed its doors last spring.

“I used to be employed there until it closed. That’s when we decided to buy this business. We said, let’s do it! What can we offer the people of Arthur?” Patel said.  

“We had an idea of what the people of Arthur really wanted already, because of the previous business. I knew what we could bring.”

For Patel, the sandwich shop is not only about offering healthier and greener alternatives, but a friendlier option with a personal touch.

“That’s what we love about being here because Arthur is small town. It’s different from bigger food chains that lack that personal feel. They are fast, and there’s no emotion. Here, we enjoy the conversation,” Patel said.

“It really is about making connections.”

The Sandwich House offers fresh paninis, wraps, burritos, salads, ice cream, milkshakes and an assortment of sandwiches, including classics such as a traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich and club sandwich.

“This is a healthier option. Everything here is fresh. For the paninis, we bake our own focaccia, baked from scratch,” Patel said.  

As for sandwiches, there are two bread options, white and multigrain.

“We offer a classic PBJ. We also have the Nutella sandwich with fruit which is really something. It comes with Nutella, strawberries, bananas and cinnamon sugar. It tases really nice together,” Patel said.

“We also have veggie pizza sandwiches. There are quite a few pizza stores in the area, so we wanted to try something new.”

For something classic, Patel said the club sandwich is a popular treat.

“The sandwich has smoked turkey, ham and bacon. Just the classic three ingredients with lettuce and tomatoes,” Patel said.

“On top of that, we have a double decker sandwich with chicken, turkey and all the veggies. People love it.”

Patel said the idea was to cater the menu for the people of Arthur, and also for the people travelling though town who might like to try something new.

“Arthur is a small town. It’s a ‘travel through’ town. People go through Arthur to get to places like Orangeville, Fergus, Guelph, Kitchener, Mount Forest and Owen Sound,” Patel said.  

“Many people coming in are on there way somewhere during the week and on the weekends.”

Patel, 28, has been in the food industry for almost eight years. His Arthur Sandwich House co-owners are Prinjay Kothiya, Chintan Rana and Rahul Shah.

“I’ve worked at Popeye’s, Subway and lots of pizza stores. So, I do have that experience. That’s what I bring to the table,” he said.

“I love this. I have a passion for customer engagement, and conversation. That is my strength. We all have different strengths. It’s a collaboration and we all fit like a puzzle. We all do what we need to do and that’s why we are successful so far.”

Patel said the grand opening held on May 31^st was a hit.

“We had an opening ceremony and councillors for the township came to support us also along with the Arthur and District Chamber of Commerce and the BIA. We feel a lot of support from the community,” Patel said.

“We want to be inclusive here. It’s given us such motivation to create something great. We take pride in making our food for someone else.”

Patel is thrilled to see the vision come to life.

“We knew what people wanted, and we thought, how we can materialize it? And now, it has become a reality,” he said.

“In the future, we hope to expand and have that same personal touch like the Arthur Sandwich House. This shop is only for the Arthur community. In another community, the menu might be different. It would suit that particular community."

The Arthur Sandwich House is also considering a monthly promotion with additional options such as butter chicken, and shawarma, that customers can try each month.   

“When we opened, it felt like the whole town of Arthur came out. People like to have friendly conversation. They appreciate us,” Patel said.

“And that’s a big reason to come back, to get that small town friendly feeling.”