A sign outside the front door of Ideal’s Sandwich and Grocery reads “Fresh Bread Daily!” The people who wait in line 45 minutes or more often say it’s the bread that makes the sandwiches so special.
The secret? Owners Paul Chirico and Ian Bracken say it is the sesame seeds, those slightly nutty, carefully toasted and often forgotten additions to their freshly baked bread.
Their hoagie rolls are lathered with pre-toasted sesame seeds before they see the inside of the oven. Chirico and Bracken say that pre-toasting the seeds brings out their flavor and adds an extra element to the bread.
The seeds are a small symbol of the attention to details at Ideal’s that is part of the owners’ quest to be, um, ideal. The owners say their commitment to making a sandwich special means working to “the last 10%.”
“I think the big difference between us and other sandwich shops is, we really care about that last 10%,” says Chirico.
The daily line, which stretches down Angier Avenue even before the shop opens, illustrates people’s commitment to the sandwiches. The line is always there. Warm weather or cold. Rain or shine. A sunny Saturday or a stormy Monday.
Even though the shop is only open from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday through Monday, there are no other sandwich shops in Durham that consistently see a line out the door that requires a 45-minute wait.
“One of the reasons we opened here was, there’s nothing like (Ideal’s) down here,” says Chirico. “If we opened in New York, no one would care about us.”
Chirico isn’t keen about the line and the cruel reality that someone might wait for a sandwich only to reach the counter when the store has run out. But he likes the unique things that happen when dozens of strangers come together.
“I love the line…in terms of how it’s built a lot of community. A lot of people have met friends, have met loved ones,” he says.
The line has everyone: parents with babies in strollers, people with their dogs, and Duke students hungover after a long weekend. At the front, new customers snap a photo of the letter-sized piece of paper that is the 10-item menu. Political activists take advantage of the captive audience to pass out flyers for an upcoming protest.
Nathan Schwartz, a Duke student, found the action continued after he placed his order:
“The woman behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘I heard you got the last chicken cutlet sandwich. Can I buy it off you? It’s my wife’s birthday today.’” he says.
With a line so long, some might expect a lavish menu, but that is not the case.
The menu is limited, but the sandwiches aren’t typical deli fare. Uncle Primo’s Chicken Cutlet is a sandwich with a crispy chicken cutlet, homemade fresh mozzarella (made by Chirico himself), thinly sliced prosciutto, arugula salad, herb mayo, and served on a sesame hoagie or a round focaccia. (The store goes through about 100 pounds of chicken cutlet in just three hours each day.)
The 10-item menu is rounded out by other hot sandwiches such as the Harlem Chopped Cheese, which is the Ideal’s take on another New York delicacy. Along with its chopped ground beef and sharp provolone, the sandwich contains chopped onions and cherry peppers as well as their house chop sauce. The Philly Roast Pork has fresh broccoli rabe. And the two Fried Eggplant sandwiches provide vegetarian options.
For those struggling Duke students that slept in until noon, they offer an egg and cheese on a homemade English muffin.
Inside, the shop shows its roots as a local deli, offering grab-and-bake meals, wines and pasta.
Having grown up in Brooklyn and Boston respectively, Chirico and Bracken know the offerings of a Northeast deli. The two met at The Culinary Institute of America when they were 18. There, the idea of opening a sandwich spot inspired by Rossi’s Deli in Poughkeepsie, was born. About 10 years later, while Bracken was living in Durham, he was ready to give it a shot. He persuaded Chirico to leave his I.T. job in New York and come to Durham.
The two purchased the building space just before the Covid outbreak and opened the shop on July 21, 2021.
“Ian’s really the bread guy,” says Chirico. “I do the other stuff.”
He says his Italian father and Korean mother taught him the value of good food and its ability to bring people together. And like a less intense Carmy from the hit show “The Bear,” Chirico ends his day with a cigarette.
“My family has always been good cooks. My mom, my grandmother, they always made really good food. I used to watch the Food Network when I was five years old and thought, ‘I want to be that chef,’” says Chirico.
Ideal’s recently announced the opening of its bakery, which will allow them to bake more bread, explore new pastry options, expand their hours, and, perhaps, eliminate the line.
Photo at top: The daily line at Ideal’s starts even before the shop opens. Photo by Jackson Derman – The 9th Street Journal
Jackson Derman
