Jay’s Sandwich Shop

Jay’s is CLOSED (and has been for a few weeks now), so not sure how someone can post a review from 2 days ago. Just sayin’…

Usually when I am walking up Drummond, I am speed walking somewhere. I don’t take the time to see what’s around; I keep it moving. That’s because I’d always ever noticed the eyeglass store on the north side of the street. It seems (for years) that whichever restaurant adorned the south side of the street would stick around for less than a year and then it would be something else. I didn’t have time to make new attachments.
Well, one day as I was speedwalking past, I smelled something savory. What was it? «Fries? Fries! Mmm. But where was it coming from? Oh, that restaurant.» As we all know, speedwalking drains you of energy and it was cold outside, so I decided to stop in for a quick warm up and contemplate some fries. Like a moth to a flame, Jay’s sandwich Shop knew it has me. As soon as I stepped in and fully breathed in the smell of hot bread and hotter fries, I had no choice but to order something. After making sure my selection was mayo free, I decided on the Italian and an order of cheese fries. The sandwich was made to order, fresh, hot, brimming with spice (eg oregano), packed with meat and delightfully oily (as in oil & vinegar). I don’t eat many Italian subs/​sandwiches these days and this one made me wonder why I don’t. It was delicious and I inhaled it. But, the best was yet to come. As delicious as the fries smelled… as intoxicating the aroma… as tempting as they looked… once you add a gallon of yellow cheese stuff on top…
I had to take a moment. Each fry was wonderfully drenched in cheese. I needed to eat it with a knife and fork. Again, this isn’t food I could or should eat every day. But, after not experiencing the pure bliss of super-​coated cheese fries in many years, every bite was a flashback to childhoods spent at amusement parks. Loved it. Jay’s isn’t reinventing the wheel. There’s no molecular *anything* going on and ‘gourmet’ isn’t on the menu. But, if you’re in need of a neighborhood sandwich shop with good product, you’d be hard-​pressed to find something better.

I didn’t know this place existed until I was walking down Clark today after class. I stopped in and I was very impressed. Kind of a low key set-​up, but a large menu with many interesting options. I had the Italian Beef and cheese fries (because I hate my arteries) and I was very impressed by it. The beef had a nice flavor and the fries were really good. That alone would get this establishment 4 stars, but the service was incredibly personable. The guy behind the counter making the sandwiches was very friendly and kind of gave the place a welcoming neighborhood feel. I recommend you come in and try a sandwich here sometime. Give em a try. You won’t regret it.

My wife had lunch here and said it is one of the best sandwiches she has had in a long time! Jay was very cool about making her complex request of goodies for her sandwich. He took extra time to make the sandwich and not like the typical JJ’s assembly line sandwich and made with care. Prices were really reasonable and working across the street makes it super convenient. I’ll edit this once I try Jay’s but my wife is picky so I’m sure she’s spot on.

The place is tiny, but I don’t think that deserves docking stars. The staff was friendly and the food was great (I had a reuben that was out of this world). They have a wide variety of sandwiches– from jumbo hot dogs to a zesty chicken to a tuscan turkey ciabatta. I definitely plan on making a return visit!

All the reviews so far are correct minus the one that says you can get these sandwiches at Potbelly. I have eaten once at Potbelly after eating 300 times at Jay’s and will never do that again. Once you have a sandwich at Jays yo will never go back. Jay jr is a great guy and always offers me 10% off cause I work close. Probably cause I go there so much but he recently opened and already has a lifelong customer out of me. I recommend the Italian sub hot and the honey chicken with bacon. But they are all pretty great. He also sells deli meat and cheeses by the pound. If you havent tried Jays you should. Keep up the good work guys!

This is a perfect spot to grab a quick sandwich and be on your way. Literally nothing special here. You could get the same thing from a number of places in the area like Chipmonks, Yangos, or Potbelly. However, the speed in which I was served was pretty great.
Takeaways:
* Good sandwich selection
* Serves fries & cookies
* Looks like the inside of a gas station
* Nothing fancy, but good sandwiches
* Club Sandwich + Walnut Raisin Cookie = ~$ 7.30

This place gets a straight 5 stars. 1 because Jay JR, I believe the owner of this place, is such a great guy! I met him while getting two sandwiches, one for me and one for my sis to split and share. He was very funny and actually made me laugh.
I had heard that Jay’s fries were amazing and that their sammies are up there too. So another star confirmed for their sammies being superb.
So I walk back to work with my take-​out bags in hand and notice, oh no, the glorious fries are missing! I didn’t mind really, a lil peeved but whatever my waist probably wouldn’t miss the fries… BUUUTTTTTTT my sister on the other hand was fiending for these damn fries! So to pacify her I called Jay and let him know, «Hi, I’m the girl that was in a few mins ago and hate to bother you with this, but the fries weren’t included in our take out bag…» Without hesitation he asked, «What’s your location… I’ll be there in 5 mins!»… He hand delivered the fries to my work! And included a complimentary cookie. Another star, ok maybe 2 for superior customer care — it really makes me care for his business when he has shown such care for my petty order!
Another star for consistency. It could be grey and ugly out and the folks over there are so friendly and nice! Jay’s pops was there one time I came in and was just as friendly. I felt like being part of the family. And consistency goes beyond the service, it’s with the food too. It’s been good everytime so far. And such friendly service makes it taste even better.

Went here on a whim. Will go back if I’m in the area and want an amazing sandwich.
I had the Tuscan Turkey Ciabatta (something like that). It was oven baked. It was good. The fries were FANTASTIC. Crunchy, like I like ‘em. There were a lot of soda selections (my girlfriend is picky with the diet soda). My girlfriend had the hot dog. It was Vienna char dog. She inhaled it. That’s my girl.
The owner is a cool talkative guy and I felt like after two times here, this would be my sandwich Cheers.

My husband and I went here cause he really wanted an italian beef sandwhich and this was the closest place to where we live that I figured would have one. We both ended up getting the italian beef and he is really picky about everything he eats. He definitely loved the sandwich. I mean it was no Al’s beef or anything but definitely good.
The guys working were super friendly, I assume it was the owner and maybe his son. They asked if we wanted to try anything and gave us a sample of the sliced chicken and some cheese.
We will definitely be going back again!

Absolutely delicious! Such a great selection that it’ll hit just about any craving I could have, local, personable owner, and quality ingredients… truly a delight. At such a reasonable price, I can’t believe I left that satisfied with leftovers still in my hands. Plus, I’m thrilled that this is in our «when it’s insanely cold, we can still make it there /​the delivery guy can make it to our place without dying» radius.
We had the chili, philly cheesesteak, fries, and chicken pesto on ciabatta, and cannot WAIT to go back for the rest!

I keep walking past this sandwich shop and just had to walk in. I agree with the other reviewers… it’s more of a take and go place… but totally worth taking and going.
I had the Italian cheese steak… it was absolutely to die for! A great meat to bread ratio and they have homemade giardiana! YUM!!!
Also, they sliced their roasted turkey for me while I was making up my mind and it was so fresh. Everyone in the place was really friendly and the owner was so nice. And even gave me a history of how this place came to be. I didn’t feel like a customer, I felt like a friend. I can’t wait to try more!
I would give this place 5 stars if only they had pepperoni!!! Please get pepperoni on your menu and you will be forever in my heart!

I went to this place for lunch because, ever the cheapskate, I had a
coupon. The coupon required that you buy a burger, otherwise, I probably would have gotten a deli sandwich. So this review is only on the burger and fries I ate.
The guys that work here we super friendly and were cracking jokes with me and each other the whole time. The guy cooking was very attentive to making the burger however I wanted it (and that would definitely be WITHOUT mayo!).
I would like to give this place 3 stars because I liked the guys, but it’s gotta be 2 stars because the food was… meh. The burger, typical frozen patty. The fries were typical Ore-​Ida style crinkles. At least they were freshly fried and hot, but no discernible potato flavor. My first job was in fast food and one of the things I learned is that to make fries taste better you should sit them in the fry rack and allow them to slowly thaw rather dump frozen potatoes in hot grease. This helps to release the potato sugar and flavor that makes them taste better (you’ll see in McDonald’s that a machine does this automatically).
This place is also extremely tiny, only about four seats on a shallow counter by the window, so be prepared to carry out.
Basically, If you live or work near, then I’d say go here occasionally, but I don’t think I’d ever travel here again, even with a discount coupon.

Recently stopped here after a trip to the Best Buy across the street. The place is tiny, built for take out only pretty much. I had one of the specialty sandwiches and it was really good. The fries were crinkle cut, served hot and crispy. I’ll be back. The only reason I didn’t give more stars is that the sandwich was a little small, but the taste was good enough to try a lot more items from their menu.