By JUDD WEIL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Down but not out. After more than a year in business, Ol’ Jake’s Convenience Store and Deli in Hutchinson shut its doors last week, but according to founder and owner Jodi True, it will be back very soon.
“We are opening this new store this next week. I'm not sure what day yet, but hopefully this next week,” True said. “We're gonna focus mostly on the deli.”
Ol’ Jake’s opened at Plaza Towers building on Jan. 4, 2022. True envisioned the store as a convenient meal spot for people working and living in that area of Hutchinson’s downtown, and as more of a service as opposed to a business.
However, True admitted that could not last forever with the way things were going financially. The move did not come easy for True. She had been working another job in order to fund payroll for her employees.
The ultimate catalyst for the move to the new location was the lack of parking at Ol’ Jake’s.
“People told me all the time, ‘we love your sandwiches, we want to stop but there was no parking.’ It was either going to be close or relocate and people were just saying, ‘please don’t close, please don’t close,’” True said.
All of Ol’ Jake’s delicious sandwiches are named after family pets, past and present. The establishment itself is named after a particular family pet that True held dear.
True cited the ‘Molly,’ their Mediterranean veggie sandwich, as her favorite. However, their best-selling sandwich is the ‘Milo,’ a sandwich with ham, turkey and bacon.
Other examples include ‘Fred,’ a ham sandwich, which True said was named after a particularly overreactive basset hound.
Ol’ Jake’s new location will be at 2420 N. Main St., Suite F.
When Ol’ Jake’s reopens in the near future, the menu will maintain its canine aliases, as well as bring on some new sandwiches, like breakfast sandwiches and a sandwich with turkey, cranberry and cream cheese.
They will also continue to sell their daily hot-plate specials.
Other than the expansion, Ol’ Jake’s will shift from convenience store items to more gift-based items like T-shirts and other knickknacks.
Follow Ol’ Jake’s progress on Facebook.
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