Late yesterday I came across this story in which Which Wich CEO Jeff Sinelli expressed a certain angst over his Dallas-based sandwich chain's decision to offer the so-called Which Wich Super, a 15-inch, low-priced variation on the standard 8-inch offering. Sinelli was speaking on Sunday in Chicago at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show -- specifically, he was there for a panel titled "Top Restaurant CEOs Reveal Successful Sales Driving Menu Strategies for Overcoming Tough Economic Times" -- and he said, yeah, the offering was doing well, but that didn't make it, ya know, right.
I just called to ask at which locations the giant sandwich was being tested; the story said four, but not at which Which Wiches you could buy the sucker (not that I am so inclined, swear). Sinelli himself called this morning to offer the whereabouts: the downtown Dallas corporate location, as well as shops in Southlake, Fort Worth and in Arizona. And, again, he expressed his concern for even deciding to go big.
"We received a little bit of pressure to introduce a larger sandwich, and this is my own personal conflict," he tells Unfair Park. "I believe people have a responsibility to eat what they want to eat and how much, but we have the responsibility not to put something reckless out there. Which is why I want to make sure we're not rolling it out
till I've had [enough time to] look at the data and social consciousness of it before giving it to the other 80 stores."
He says no decision will be made till January -- though, at the moment, he's "leaning toward [staying with] our signature size, [because] at the end of the day, I believe in portion control, and
there should be value in portion control."
That said, he recommends La Monumental at Burguesa Burger,
his new joint on Inwood Road -- you know, the new "Mexican burger" joint next to the original Sonny Bryan's. And that two-patties-plus-a-slice-o'-ham sumbitch doesn't sound morally correct
whatsoever. Delicious, yes.
