“We use the kitchen for what goes between the bread, instead of the bread itself,” said Hunter Pond, the founder of East Hampton Sandwich Co.
The strategy has paid off: When the first location opened in the Dallas area, in 2012, there was a line out the door. Those lines haven’t gone away.
“It hasn’t slowed down since,” Pond said.
The six-unit chain is poised to open two more units. At press time, Pond was scouting locations in Houston, which would be East Hampton Sandwich Co.’s second market.
Not bad for a law school dropout who founded the chain at 25 years old, with no restaurant experience.
Pond, himself a sandwich lover, created East Hampton Sandwich Co. from a customer’s perspective.
“I’d eat them for dinner,” he said.
He wanted to serve high-quality sandwiches akin to The Cheesecake Factory, but in a fast-casual format. So East Hampton Sandwich Co. developed a menu of items like a Balsamic Tenderloin sandwich and Lobster Grilled Cheese.
“I wanted to have that upscale, American-grill quality sandwich in a fast-casual atmosphere,” Pond said. “I just watched a lunch rush where we did 300 to 400 sandwiches in a lunch rush. You don’t have the ability to do that in full service. But you can when you pair the product with quick service.”
East Hampton Sandwich Co. is innovative in putting more focus on the ingredients in the sandwich, rather than just the bread.
The chain is helping to establish a market for upscale, fast-casual sandwiches.
