Capriotti's carves out truck-size piece of history
Source: News Journal
By Eric Roth
January 20, 2009
Politicians from Texas probably haul big batches of barbecued brisket to their inaugural festivities. For New Englanders, it's probably pots of clam chowdah.
If you're a politically astute Delawarean, you ship in the subs.
Not just any subs, mind you. For Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his Senate successor, Ted Kaufman, their weekend Washington galas were celebrated with tray after tray of sandwiches from Delaware's pre-eminent sub shop, Capriotti's -- shipped straight down I-95 to play their drippy part in culinary diplomacy and home-state pride.
At the chain's Silverside Road location, the equivalent of 310 large subs -- turkeys, Italians and "Bobbies" (turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mayo) -- were slapped together Sunday under the watchful eyes of Food and Drug Administration agents, who took samples for testing before deeming them fit for VIP consumption and shipping them off in a sealed truck.
"It's incredible what they do to make sure nothing's in there and no one's fooling with the food," said Ann Gwinn, Capriotti's vice president of East Coast operations.
The Union Street store -- which had Biden as a regular customer for years -- made 60 larges for Kaufman's event Friday.
"We came in at 4 o'clock in the morning to start it," said Union Street manager Frankie Rizzo. All the subs were "wrapped in flag paper, which I thought was cute."
Less cute was the fact that Sunday's order was immediately followed by a deluge of orders from torqued-up Eagles fans.
"We went straight from that order to a crazy store," said Linda Cormier, Silverside owner.
Lunchmeat-related stresses aside, the whole Capriotti's crew is pleased and proud to be part of history.
It's even possible (and in Gwinn's mind, exciting) that regional demand will spread now that so many influential and powerful people have experienced the gloriously messy charms of a Delaware sub.
"We've been wanting to do a store down there for a long time," Gwinn said of the nation's capital.
Contact Eric Ruth at 324-2428 or eruth@delawareonline.com.
