PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Highland Park, IL ... - Wordspecs

PHOTO: Daniel Kullman, Bitter Jester Creative
including the entire Boar’s Head meat line—plus all the toppings and sub rolls, white, wheat, rye and
challah breads. The potential combinations are far too many to count, but to make your job a little
easier, Bob suggests you try one of their signature sandwiches. “The ‘Nicky D’ is named after one of
our good customers who holds the record for eating the largest sandwich we’ve ever made. It has over
a pound of up to three kinds of thinly sliced meat (your choice), cheese and all the condiments we
carry, hot peppers and everything. We thought we’d name a sandwich after him; we’ve had a few
other people try, it but no one else could never finish the thing!”
“The Paulie Special” is his brother’s specialty (that’s Paulie � going over the architectural plans
with Bob), but the ingredients are a secret at this point. “My brother is quite the chef in the kitchen,
and he comes up with some interesting sandwiches. It’ll be delicious meats and spices and that’s all
I’m going to say right now,” Bob defers with a grin. “We’ll also have wraps, garden salads, chicken
Caesar salads, and we’re even going to have ‘The Crimo Supremo,’ our version of an Italian Sub.”
Last, but certainly not least, they’ll have an amazing veggie sandwich, ‘Denise’s Delight,’ designed
by and named after Bob’s wife Denise. “It’s a beautiful sandwich, but only half as beautiful as my wife
is,” Bob raves, earning a few extra brownie points.
Bob’s Pantry also will carry Vienna’s Bistro
Soups (there are 50 varieties; Bob will serve four
each day), groceries and quickie-snacks, and a
machine that automatically squeezes fresh
oranges in about 15 seconds, right before your
very eyes. When asked if an automated orangesqueezing
machine was a good investment, Bob
didn’t even blink. “We’ve been squeezing by
hand for a couple of years, but in a fast-paced
environment, the time it’ll save in terms of labor?
It’ll pay for itself in no time. In the past we went
through five cases of oranges a week—that’s
between five and eight gallons of juice—and we
weren’t even advertising it! So with the display
where everyone can see it, I think we can easily
beat our record.”
About as feng shui as one might imagine a
24-hour convenient store’s layout to be, Bob
describes the proposed coffee island. (In Bob’s old
location, this was a huge part of most morning
commuters’ daily routine.) “I’ve laid it out in a
way that will keep the flow going and not cause
any ‘traffic jams’ at the coffee bar. What’s more, I
found a great gourmet coffee that will be roastedto-order—Eclect
Coffee (www.eclectcoffee.com).
Denise loves her coffee, but always with cream
and sugar. When I brewed a pot of of the new
coffee and brought it home for her to taste, she
asked for the cream and sugar. I said, ‘Just try it
black, I want your thoughts.’ She reluctantly tried
a sip…tried a second sip…then a third sip, and
then she said, ‘Put that stuff away, I’m going to
drink it black.’ It was so smooth to her, and she
told me she’s never had coffee like that. Well, at
that point I was really excited!” Bob says with a
huge laugh. “It’s very important to have a strong
coffee program in my store. I want someone to
come in, have a cup of coffee and say ‘WOW.’ If I
didn’t have great coffee, I’d be very embarrassed.”
Bob plans to carry the beans as well; you can take
them home, whole or ground.
Unlike the White Hen, a dine-in area will
hold between 25 and 30 people at two- and
four-seat tables. There will also be a couple of
big, comfy chairs in the corner under a flat-panel
TV, and a long granite counter with 10 bar
stools for people to eat or read the paper while
they wait for the train right across the street. In
the evenings, a small stage will be home to
(continued on next page)
Holiday 2008 / 29