Before Sam Gormally started selling sandwiches from the hole in the wall of a ‘rough pub’ on Piccadilly Approach, he was more in the realm of sous vide than ‘slinging subs’.
The co-founder of Bada Bing, with his girlfriend Meg Lingenfelter and pal Josh Urpi, he’d worked at the likes of Hawksmoor, Climat and Osma, some of the city’s most well-regarded – not to mention Michelin Guide-listed – restaurants, neither of which are likely to turn out a sandwich that weighs as much as a house brick.
Covid, furlough and an obsession with re-watching The Sopranos in lockdown, made them rethink things, and soon enough they were making their own gabagool – cured pork neck and shoulder, called capocollo in Italy, the pronunciation bastardised in the US over years.
Word soon got around that heavy-weight sub rolls, crammed with excesses of cured meats and cheeses, were being served from a window hatch at the side of B Lounge bar on Piccadilly.
From there, it was another hatch situation, this time on Radium Street in Ancoats, where lunchtime queues would regularly snake down the street, followed by a stint at the Ancoats General Store.
And then nothing. For ages. After winding up their residency at the General Store (they sold over 1,250 sandwiches in that final week) the project abruptly disappeared, leaving ardent sub-seekers truly bereft.
However, they always had half an eye open for a forever home, and after much cajoling from friends and random sandwich fans, they eventually found it on Oldham Street. It was worth the two year wait.
Last week, they celebrated their first birthday in the new place, and they couldn’t be happier about it.
“It’s been non-stop,” he says. “We had no idea what it would be, and it’s become more than we ever hoped it would. It all snowballed so quickly to start with, we just needed some time to work out how to do it properly. We were maybe away slightly longer than we planned, but absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Now, rather than having to wait in the street and eat al fresco, you can head into their simply decorated spot – neon lights, tiles, painted breeze blocks, a bit of merch on the walls – and relax. Even grab a beer.
“It doesn’t feel like work,” Sam laughs. “We’ve got such a great team here. We’re strict on quality, but we want everyone to be having a laugh. I want people to enjoy being here, and the customers notice that the staff are friendly because everyone’s enjoying themselves.”
To celebrate their first birthday on Oldham Street, you can enjoy 15% off ALL sandwiches after 3pm when you order through @ubereats_uk. Offer runs from 17th September – 23rd September.
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