Chef Alex Sneazwell worked in many of the city’s finest restaurants but wanted to run his own place. When he went looking for spaces, he came across a quaint spot in an industrial area on 156th street just north of Yellowhead Trail, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. “The space just lent itself to being a great sandwich shop. You could just see it,” says Alex. “It’s a working person type neighbourhood, so it was like everyone can get behind the brand and we can give people the opportunity to have a humble sandwich but with good quality.” It turns out it didn’t matter where Alex set up his Sandwich & Sons shop, as people started coming from all over the city to enjoy them.
The success of Sandwich & Sons led to Alex opening up a second restaurant in the heart of downtown on 104th Street. “It’s very different than the first store but, at the same time, you don’t need to have a fancy restaurant to be downtown,” says Alex. “Sandwiches aren’t fancy. We’re not trying to be fancy. It doesn’t matter where you’re working or what your job is, sandwiches are just really relatable. Everyone can get down on a sandwich.”