Tasty Creations Demand Large Appetites

By Angeles Oviedo

Alongside waves of Santa Clara students, guests on the day of the grand opening included NBC Bay Area Reporter Raj Mathai, and Ike Shehadeh, the founder of the original Bay Area sandwich shop.

Ike's Lair general manager, Lee Aldren, explained that the original Ike's Place, which opened in 2007, became too popular for its own good. The sandwiches were so popular that Shehadeh had to shut down his first store for a brief time before he was able to open shop in a more suitable location.

A few years and several hundreds of sandwiches later, Ike's Lair on The Alameda is the eighth to join the family of Ike's sandwich shops in the Bay Area, which includes locations in San Francisco and at Stanford University.

Aldren also explained that what differentiates Ike's sandwiches from their competition is their signature Dirty Sauce, a garlic aioli-like dressing that goes on every sandwich on its extensive menu, featuring roughly 200 sandwiches.

While not all of the sandwiches are listed on the store's menu visitors will find a selection of sandwiches on a wall-sized blackboard upon walking into Ike's Lair. The menu features sandwiches named after sports teams and celebrities, and a slew of creatively-named sandwiches like, "Do you smell what Barak is cooking?," "Name of the girl I'm dating," and "Going Home for Thanksgiving."

"It's about impossible to make a decision, because there's about a million choices and apparently there's a secret menu on their app," said senior Robert Leupp on the extensiveness of Ike's menu. 

Leupp eventually chose a sandwich called "the 49er," featuring halal chicken, buffalo wing sauce, honey mustard and cheddar cheese.

The store's soft and grand openings were prefaced by a day of sandwich freebies last week. 

Employees passed out free sandwiches on campus and near local businesses to spread word of the new location.

"The sandwiches will sell themselves; we just need to get people through the door," Aldren said.

Judging by the crowd at their soft opening on Friday, their method worked. Santa Clara students filled the small corner shop neighboring the former Mission City Coffee.

"It's great to have a good sandwich place. We have Subway, but this is a lot better," said sophomore Robin Calhoun. 

First-time Ike's visitor senior Fana Yohannes said that, besides great sandwiches, she is glad to see a new, small, local business opening its doors by Santa Clara, adding that it gives our environment a unique flair.

Ike's Lair is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Their sandwiches range in price from $7 to $12.

Contact Angeles Oviedo at aoviedo@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4849.