On a Monday afternoon, I stepped into Sam’s Sub Shop for a sandwich and felt as though I’d stepped back in time. The shop first opened in 1946, and it maintains the character and charm of that era.
Sandra Bertrando, the current owner, was cleaning up behind the counter. Her husband, Robert “Bert” Bertrando, filled the cooler cases with soda. A friend of theirs, Bill Sinton sat at a table behind the counter with a pen and newspaper, doing the crossword puzzle. He called out, “What’s a nickname for Arnold Palmer?”
I’d been wanting to check out Sam’s Sub Shop since I first noticed the red, white and blue sign out front that advertises “Subs, Steaks, Hamburgers” and is emblazoned with the Dietz & Watson logo. When I asked around, the locals proclaimed the subs were worth the stop.
Inside Sam’s, a long deli counter runs the length of the right hand side of the store. Behind the counter, framed photos of Sam and his family line the upper shelf. A black and white photo of Sam behind the counter holds the place of honor underneath the Dietz & Watson clock. Cooler cases filled with cold cuts sit across the back section. Along the left wall, shelves with pantry goods line the wall along with refrigerated soda coolers.
I asked Sandra if there is one sub they are known for. “The Italian is our most popular,” she replied. So that’s what I ordered.
It took a few minutes for Sandra to create my masterpiece of a sub. They don’t pre-slice the meat and cheese at Sam’s, but slice only to order. They also make cheesesteaks, burgers, hot dogs, and breakfast sandwiches.
Sandra’s father, Sam Frabriso opened the shop in 1946. “Right after WWII, most men were going to the assembly lines and he opened this instead. He did his own day job for the first year and my mother worked at the store, and then he started working here full time.”
As a kid, Sandra’s family lived in town so she would walk to the sub shop and help her parents. “Nothing has changed here except the soda cases,” she said. “In the fifties, Kennett Square had a movie theatre and bars. We’d get people stopping in as they walked home on a Friday night after being at the movies.”
Bill Sinton, the man with the crossword puzzle, moved to Kennett Square as a kid and has been friends with Sam’s family since. “I came into Sam’s when I was nine years old and Sam yelled at me,” he laughed, and then he turned to Bert, “Tell him about how Sam smoked his cigars.”
Bert described how Sam used to light a cigar and place it in his pipe so that the cigar stuck straight up. “He used to sit outside puffing away on that thing.” Sinton shook his head and smiled.
Sam passed away in 1995. “He went out to play a round of golf and never came back,” Bert said. “He was playing golf at Loch Nairn and died right on the course.”
Sandra and Bert now operate the sub shop. Bert is retired from teaching. “He likes to come in early and make coffee. He and his friends sit around the table and talk,” Sandra said.
So, what’s the difference between a sub and a hoagie?
“Nothing, it’s the same,” Sandra said. “My father called them subs. Most of the older places called them subs.”
Martin Gorman, who works with Bill Sinton across the street, stopped in for some takeout sandwiches. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, so Sandra suggested a few sandwiches she knew he likes.
“They could eat anywhere but they choose here,” Bert joked.
Sandra and Bert get help from the family to keep the store open. Sandra’s sister is a teacher but works in the store in the summer. Sandra’s niece also works part time in the shop. They are no longer open long hours, closing most days by three, though they stay open until 6pm on Fridays.
Asked if the next generation will keep Sam’s Sub Shop going, Sandra laughs. “I don’t think so, though when the boys come to visit, I do put them to work.”
Find Sam’s Sub Shop at 329 East State Street in Kennett Square. Operating hours are as follows: Open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, from 7 am to 3 pm.; Thursdays and Fridays, from 7 am to 6 pm; closed Sundays. Call 610-444-3580 for more information.
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