KALAMAZOO, MI — While many restaurants across Kalamazoo and around the state were forced into temporary closures in March as a result of the coronavirus, a downtown Kalamazoo sandwich shop stayed the course.
Artisan Sandwich Co., located at 348 S. Kalamazoo Mall in downtown Kalamazoo, “never really” closed says store owner Ryan Schmidt.
While Michigan’s stay-at-home order on March 16 stifled on-foot traffic downtown and led to a decline in business in March, Schmidt, 30, said his shop’s catering orders have actually increased as a result of the pandemic.
After losing his entire staff, Schmidt kept his restaurant open and operated the store himself, offering take-out service, until the stay-at-home order was lifted in June. Since then, he has added new and returning workers and currently has five employees on staff, Schmidt said.
Since opening in August 2017, Artisan has been serving hot or cold deli-style sandwiches that put an emphasis on fresh, homemade ingredients. Schmidt says at the ethos of his restaurant stems from two ideas: eating well and living better.
Related: Artisan Sandwich Co. opens in downtown Kalamazoo
Popular specialty sandwiches include: the Kalamazoo Club, with bacon, ham, and turkey; the Albacore tuna salad sandwich, with fresh albacore tuna made in small batches daily; a turkey avocado BLT, with fresh-sliced to order avocado and hickory-smoked bacon; and the Veggie, which features a hummus spread, cheese and veggies.
After working odd jobs following his graduation from Western Michigan University, Schmidt said he decided it was time to take a risk.
“I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do so after kind of trying to figure out life, I said, ‘I’m an entrepreneur and I need to just do it,‘” Schmidt said.
After putting in the groundwork and gauging the feasibility to make his idea a reality, Schmidt said, he was able to acquire a loan from the bank and has made Artisan Sandwich Co. his passion since.
“We really scraped it together, but we made it happen and in a way that it looks mature and professional,” Schmidt said.
Inside the 980-square-foot space, customers will notice a modern, but rustic feel. Schmidt said one of the main influences behind the design of his store was the “Artisan” name itself.
“If you look up Artisan in the dictionary, it means handcrafted, specialty-made, in smaller batches, so that’s the idea when I built the space, I said, ‘I’m going to handcraft everything’ and I literally put the brick on the wall, built the counter myself, painted the ceilings on my birthday in 2017.”
Related: 12 restaurants that opened in 2017 in the Kalamazoo area
All of the shop’s Sandwiches are wrapped in packaging styled to look like an old-school newspaper — which has been somewhat an unexpected hit with customers, Schmidt said.
You can find Schmidt, a new father of a four-month-old son, inside Artisan Sandwich shop on most days Artisan’s doors are open.
“Early on, I said, ‘OK, I’m going to be here and let each and every one of my customers know how special they are,’ because customer service is a huge thing,” Schmidt said. “I remember when we first opened, I had a customer who asked, ‘Why are you being so nice?’ And it’s just who I am, but you realize nobody does it like us.”
Those looking to place an order in advance can contact Artisan Sandwich Co. at 269-220-5665.
Also on MLive:
Local Eats: Black-owned restaurants offer community favorites in Kalamazoo
Local Eats: Blue Dolphin owner thankful for Kalamazoo community’s support during pandemic