Move over Subway, there’s a new sandwich shop coming to town: the Forks Sandwich Eatery.
“We’re a local family-owned and operated casual sandwich restaurant,” said owner Tom Maddux. “We’re hoping to entice the sandwich crowd by providing our customers with creative foods made from scratch and using only fresh, wholesome ingredients, and we’re looking forward to serving the college, the city of Albion and the community.”
With plenty of experience in the restaurant business, Maddux plans to use his familiarity with to help run the restaurant. As a retired employee with over 25 years in the foodservice industry, he was more than happy to open a restaurant.
As a lifelong resident of the city, he wanted the restaurant itself to be a tribute.
“We named our restaurant the Forks after the Kalamazoo River site where Albion was first settled in 1835,” he said. “As a lifelong resident [of Albion] I wanted to celebrate Albion and its history.”
Working with local historian and author, Frank Passic, Maddux plans to have the interior of the restaurant decorated to commemorate the town of Albion.
“You see places like Wendy’s and McDonald’s having pictures of their cities, and it’s time that we celebrate Albion as well,” said Passic. “The restaurant will be an Albion-friendly atmosphere with pictures of the town. We want to elicit memories and conversation of Albion itself and the town’s past. I think this will be one of the first restaurants in the area to feature the town on such a scale. I know Tom’s going to do a really great job.”
The logo of the restaurant was designed by Maddux’s nephew, Charles Larocco, another lifelong Albion resident. Depicting the forks in the Kalamazoo River going through a burger, the logo is also a hint at the town’s history.
In addition to burgers and sandwiches, the restaurant will have a variety of options which cover several dietary restrictions.
“Some of our offerings are gonna be specialty hamburgers, or you could customize your own burger masterpiece,” said Maddux. “If burgers aren’t your thing, then we will also offer a variety of unique sandwiches in addition to the classics using a broad base of flavors. There’s going to be fresh salads, home-made soups and chilis, chicken wings, a variety of appetizers and sides and daily specials for our more frugal customers. We plan on having tortilla wraps with fresh ingredients too. We will have some vegetarian items available as well, not to mention you can customize your own vegetarian burger or wrap.”
Maddux emphasized the freshness of his ingredients.
“We will use 100 percent all-natural chicken and turkey, raised without antibiotics, and half pound or quarter-pound burgers made with 100 percent fresh-never-frozen, certified black angus beef made from a premium blend of chop brisket and short ribs,” he said. “Our plans are to enlarge the garden that is already on site and purchase locally sourced produce- in season from probably a Farmer’s Market in the area.”
The restaurant will be offering several options for food delivery including pre-order, curbside pick-up, delivery and online ordering.
Hoping to open in February, the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner first. When things begin running smoothly, it will open the doors for breakfast.
Follow the Forks Sandwich Eatery on Facebook for opening dates, job openings and updates. For more information on Frank Passic, or his many books, email him at albionfp@hotmail.com.
Photo courtesy of Forks Sandwich Eatery
Breakfast would be great on Sunday mornings.