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One of the many gorgeous photos by friend of Sandwhich, Gus Grubba
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A Few Things To Know
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Sigh. This message is so long in part because I don't want it to end.
Here are a few things I'd like for you to know for this final week of our business.
THINGS TO KNOW
September 21 at 4pm is when we will close our doors permanently.
Until then, we may begin running out of certain menu items -- please bear with us. We may offer a revised version of our menu.
The new restaurant coming in is really a delightful place -- Heavenly Buffaloes is based in Durham and they make yummy-as-heck chicken wings and other accompaniments, especially their delicious made-from-scratch sauces. They have a simple menu and everything on it is delicious. The operation is owned by two good guys, Dain Phelan and Mark Dundas. I'm really proud to pass the torch to them.
Please join me in welcoming them to the community. They will be good neighbors, and good community stewards.
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HOURS
*we will close our doors*
Thurs. S
ept. 21
at 4pm
until then....
normal hours
Sun & Mon 11 - 4
Tues-Sat 11 - 9
We will have normal
business hours until
September 21 at 4pm, when
we will close our
doors permanently.
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| A Few Amazing Local and Not-So-Local Organizations |
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There are so many wonderful organizations in this area, it often overwhelmed me to try to decide how to devote our limited donation dollars to the "right" cause. We gave a lot of gift certificates for silent auctions and the like, but I always wished I could do more.
In addition to the Be Loud! Sophie Foundation, for whom we did a benefit two years in a row, we were proud to support a few other organizations. Oh the long paragraphs I want to write about each one, but this message is already too long. Please indulge me and click on a few of these links. If you would like to donate, I know each one would appreciate your support.
Miracle Feet - totally doable solution to a major birth defect
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Hurricane Irma
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The last message I wrote, only two weeks ago, contained a plea that you consider donating to a organization at work in the areas hit by Hurricane Harvey.
Now we've only gone one letter down the alphabet and we have a whole new hurricane to deal with.
Also -- let's not forget
Mexico had a devastating earthquake. We're so caught up in these terrible storms, it seems crazy that we might "forget" about a giant earthquake, right? But there's so much going on...
Here is a link to wonderful site called
Charity Navigator that can help you choose a worthy organization for your $5 or $25 or $50 contribution.
Thank you!
P.S.
I'm going to put in a word here about my dear friend of many decades, Katrina Schwartz, who is a skilled researcher working hard on issues affecting Florida wetlands. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling we're going to need to do everything we can to protect that delicate ecosystem. Thank you, Katrina, for this important work.
(And thank you, also, for "value engineering" the office!)
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I've been obsessing over this email since I wrote the last message. The last message was long -- this one is actually the second half of the last message. I appreciate you bearing with me.
It is a horrible feeling to think I might inadvertently fail to mention someone important to Sandwhich's 13 years of happiness. But I am going to do it, and it is going to be you, person reading this, and then I'll run into you at, I don't know, maybe the glorious Silverspot Cinema, and we'll both be ordering chicken tenders and wine, and you'll say something nice about Sandwhich, and I'll thank you for all the things you did, and then I'll have this terrible sinking feeling while we are talking that I left you out of the thank you list. I won't even listen to what you are saying to me at the cinema, waiting for our chicken tenders, because I'll be so distracted by the thought of having forgotten to thank you.
But it is the nature of the beast: 13 years and 13 gagillion people without whom I couldn't have possibly have done it. If it makes you feel better, I forgot to thank my own son, A., and my brother, Norton Dickman, and my departed, but incredibly present sister, Elizabeth, in the last message where I mentioned my very supportive family. My son, in particular, worked with us this summer and he did a magnificent job. He's a lovely, brilliant guy and I forgot to mention him, my own child. But there are too many things swirling around in my head right now and 97% of them have to do with gratitude. That's not a bad thing!
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| a few of my favorite tray labels |
Random Kindness and Senseless Beauty
Something happened when Sandwhich was born: all these creative people, and all these generous people, and all these creative-generous people, showed up at the "barn raising" to offer their talents.
I'm talking about the 13-year-long barn raising. That barn, the proverbial one, with crispy bacon and sliced local tomatoes inside it. The one where Southern Iced Tea went farther south, to Morocco. The barn where one might dream of a cookie that could remedy a malady.
If Sandwhich is the 13 year-old barn, then the "barn raising" I refer to is the community without which Sandwhich could never have been a thing. I'm not saying "I couldn't have done it without customers." Of course I couldn't have done this without customers! That goes without saying. But what I mean is: I couldn't have done this -- this particular collection of molecules that is Sandwhich -- without the particular alchemy of cultures and ages and shapes and sizes that is YOU, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and Durham, and other communities nearby.
This message is dedicated to the folks who came to the barn raising with their creativity, ingenuity and generosity. And now I shall mention a few of them. It is a long list, and I ask you to indulge me this one last time and read this whole list if you possibly can.
Gus Grubba, the original dogmaphobe. He designed our website FOR FREE. Well, not really. I had to pay him in sardine sandwiches. Gus did a thousand other things too, like make my boring-looking business plan look kickass, and he didn't sigh when I revised it 3000 times. Gus took many of the photos for the website. Some of his photos can be found here
here and
here and also
here.
Some of you may not know of The Splinter Group, but it is worth noting that we have a marketing and branding organization here in Chapel Hill that is doing world-class work. They did our pretty menu boards, among other things. Also, they've donated tons of time to organizations like Be Loud! Sophie Foundation, Farm to Fork, Carrboro Farmers' Market, SEEDs and many others that make our community such a special place to live.
Anton Zuiker developed our first wordpress site, which was also lovely. Thank you Anton.
David Vanhook took a ton of photos for us too. He and his wife, Amy Strong, and their darling children have been regulars forever.
Joe Kwon took beautiful photos for us, and then went on to wow us with
Avett Brothers.
Ed Timberlake at
Forrest Firm helped us get the trademark on SWCH.
Nathan Daniel Huening and his crew at Daytrip created a wonderful video for us.
John Lindsey designed the first Sandwhich down the street and did a magnificent job. Gratitude to him.
Tim Peck of Running Water Plumbing is about the nicest, kindest contractor you will ever meet in your life. He built the first Sandwhich and it was a masterpiece.
Brent Lambert from
Kitchen Mastering, and Brad Bonneville did acoustic treatments and sound system wiring, and our good landlord, Jerry Katzin paid for it all. That's pretty awesome all around.
New City Design in Raleigh did the current location, gutting what was previously Patio Loco, under the guidance of the wonderful, and kind, architect whose name I am forgetting. Drat. But his work and attention to detail are appreciated still.
Cam Hill is not only a totally regular customer, but he helped us on a number of construction/repair projects. I'm sorry about the onion rings, Cam.
Sim Henninger, who we met through Tim, helped with 1001 things. He can fix anything.
Leo Gaev did all the metalwork and Leo you need to come get your hooks off the walls!
Brian Plaster made our cool picnic tables.
Matthew Arnsberger planted all the pretty flowers! And he agreed that the sparrows should be left alone!
David Sutton - my comrade from across the street, always such a lovely person, regular customer, and a brilliant stylist - if you haven't met him, you should. And he'll make you even more beautiful than you are.
Ok folks, you've got one week to come stuff your faces. In the meantime, go help raise a barn somewhere.
I love you all. Couldn't have possibly done it without you.
Janet Elbetri
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A Few of the Amazing Artists
Who Came to the Proverbial Barn Raising
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It was an act of grace on the part of the universe that
Ippy Patterson agreed to hang her work in both our old location and our current one. Ippy's work can be found far and wide. It does something to you to see nature revered so elegantly. You can learn more about her work
here and
here.
Beatrice Ruggeri and I became friends before I fell in love with her work. She shows around town and I highly recommend you have a look at her beautiful paintings.
Kelly Cross -- Kelly is brilliant and dear. His paintings communicate that sensitivity. I loved having his famous-people portraits on our walls.
Rebecca Clodfelter's paintings are on our walls right now. I'm crazy about her
work. Here's their
website.
Sophie Steiner -- Oh, Sophie, I would have loved to have told you how good your
work is. How full of joy and brightness it is. What a good eye you have for such a young woman. How your maturity, but also your playfulness (no contradiction there!) flies through the lens of the camera and onto the photographic print. I would have loved to have told you that I am also a dancer, and I would have thanked you for your writing, especially that special poem,
Be Loud. But you are not with us anymore. So the best I can do is feel blessed to have had your magnificent photos on our walls, and that by doing so, the
Be Loud! Sophie Foundation gathered interest, and followers, and donations.
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The guy I forgot to thank (right) at the Duke Lemur Center. You MUST go there if you have never been.
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