from my local paper regarding the new sandwich shop!
http://tampatrib.com/nationworldnews/MGAM9TB0EID.html
Jul 21, 2003
Aristocrat Hopes Venture Is A Bread-Winner
By SARAH LYALL
The New York Times
LONDON - ``Going into trade'' used to be one of the worst things an English aristocrat could do.
But these are strange times for the upper crust. Being a hereditary peer - someone with an inherited title - may get you a good table in a restaurant, but it counts for little else today. With their money often tied up in huge country estates that can be ruinously expensive to maintain, even members of the landed gentry must find new ways to earn a living.
That helps explain why the family of the 11th Earl of Sandwich has set up a sandwich-selling business, also called The Earl of Sandwich.
This fall, the earl's company embarks on its biggest venture when it opens its first cafe - at Disney World in Orlando.
``Trading on one's family name is not derogatory anymore, at least not in my view,'' Lord Sandwich, 60, said in a House of Lords interview. He is one of the few hereditary peers who won the right to keep their seats there after most were evicted by the government in 1999.
Of his illustrious family of naval officers and lawmakers - one Sandwich or another has been in Parliament since the 1660s - the most famous is the fourth Earl. He was first lord of the Admiralty and financed the expedition of Captain Cook, who kindly named the Sandwich Islands after him. (Later, they became Hawaii.) He was also a bon vivant whose eureka moment, legend has it, came at an all-night gambling session. Rather than waste time by sitting down to dine, he ate a hunk of meat between two pieces of bread and gambled on.
Since then, Sandwiches have been inextricably linked with sandwiches. The earl's grandfather was known as Lord Snack. ``We had a small joke that if one had a small percentage of every sandwich sold around the world, it would give us enough for a few years,'' Lord Sandwich said.
In 2001, the Earl of Sandwich (the company) began delivering upscale sandwiches, made with fresh ingredients from small British producers, to businesses across London.
The idea for the company was born in 1992 when Lord Sandwich's second son, Orlando Montagu, stumbled upon a snack bar in Milan, Italy, that called itself the Earl of Sandwich and used the family as its theme and even served ``Orlando'' sandwiches.
``I said, `Like it or not, the connection between our family and the food product has turned from being a story to a brand,' '' Montagu said.
For its Disney debut, the company will offer an unusual array of hot and cold sandwiches, fillings and accouterments made on the spot amid decor that mimics that of the Earl's own home.
``In this day and age it doesn't hurt to have a theme,'' the Earl said.
Here is the article for those that can't get links.