Known for its sourdough, this California sandwich shop is open in an empty Fresno spot
The Jimmy John’s restaurant on West Shaw Avenue was closed for months, but a new sandwich shop has taken over.
West Coast Sourdough has opened a sandwich restaurant in the space.
The restaurant is at 3090 West Shaw Ave., near Feland Avenue, between Carl’s Jr. and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt.
West Coast Sourdough got its start in San Francisco and now has nine locations, mostly around Sacramento.
The company is expanding and planning to open more sandwich shops in the area. It’s looking for locations in Clovis and Visalia, said spokesman Kay Uppal.
The restaurant specializes in sourdough bread, of course, serving sandwiches, soups and salads.
The lunch and dinner menu includes 20 sandwiches, such as pastrami, BLT, French dip, and a veggie sandwich that can be made vegan. There are also five kinds of turkey sandwiches, including a garlic-turkey pesto and a cranberry-turkey one with Swiss cheese and cranberry sauce.
The bread is made from the same San Francisco sourdough starter used since 1995. It’s partially baked by Raymond’s, a bakery in San Francisco and flash frozen. Then, it’s thawed out and baking is finished at West Coast Sourdough’s restaurants, Uppal said.
“When you bite into that sandwich, the bread will literally have been baked 5 minutes ago,” Uppal said. “We are constantly, throughout the entire lunchtime, constantly throwing the bread in the oven and baking it.”
And if a sandwich shop with name Sourdough in it sounds familiar, that may be because Fresno already has one. That’s Sourdough & Co., which opened in River Park Circle near Dave & Buster’s several years ago.
Uppal said West Coast Sourdough’s bread and other ingredients – like fresh, local vegetables and nitrate-free, low-sodium meats – set it apart.
The restaurant is in the process of hiring employees.
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
