Earl of Sandwish in DD - is it open yet?

Not as of July 4th and it did not look like it was anywhere close to ready.
 
Can someone tell me about this place. nothing is more fun than adding something new into the plans...thanks so much!
 
Earls team up at DisneyBy Scott Joseph | Sentinel Restaurant Critic
Posted May 28, 2003




Earl World. (JESSICA MANN/ORLANDO SENTINEL)
May 28, 2003

May 28, 2003


Good lord, look who's going to sell sandwiches at Walt Disney World.

Lord John Montagu, the 11th earl of Sandwich, and Planet Hollywood founder
and CEO Robert Earl have announced they will open the first Earl of Sandwich
shop in the United States at Downtown Disney's Marketplace.


The restaurant, which will feature hot sandwiches and freshly made potato
chips -- crisps in the vernacular -- will occupy the Gourmet Pantry space. Ed
Baklor, vice president of Downtown Disney, said Tuesday he expects Earl of
Sandwich to take possession of the space within 30 days and for the restaurant
to be
up and running this fall.

"As the world's premier tourist destination, we're excited to have the first
Earl of Sandwich in the U.S. located at Walt Disney World," Baklor said.

The 8,000-square-foot Gourmet Pantry will be renovated for the new concept,
which will be the flagship for a planned chain. Earl said the capital
investment will be slightly less than $2 million. The operation, which will
have
seating for 220, will hire 50 new employees. The Pantry's current employees
have
been offered other positions with Disney, according to Earl.

"Based on the success here," said Earl, speaking by cell phone from in front
of the Pantry, "it's ironic that this will be the prototype for the
restaurants in Great Britain." The business currently operates in London as a
delivery
service only.

The average per person cost is expected to be less than $8, Earl said. The
menu will feature mainly hot sandwiches, many of which were created to reflect
the Sandwich family's history. For example, because the fourth earl is credited
with sponsoring the expedition that discovered the Sandwich Islands -- now
known as Hawaii -- there will be a ham and pineapple sandwich that will honor
that event, Earl said.

Montagu is a direct descendant of the fourth earl, also named John Montagu,
who in 1762 concocted a meal consisting of meat, most likely beef, slapped
between two slices of bread. The current earl's son Orlando came up with the
idea
to start a chain of sandwich shops in London as a way to raise money to help
maintain the family's country estate, Mapperton Gardens near Dorset. He
contacted Robert Earl to suggest a partnership.

"Orlando started writing me," Earl said in December, " 'You're an Earl and my
father's an earl; you live in Orlando and my name is Orlando; you're in the
restaurant business and we have the sandwich.'

"I thought he was a crackpot," Earl said, "and for a long long time I refused
to respond."

But when things slowed down while Planet Hollywood was in bankruptcy
proceedings, Earl took a closer look at one of the letters and contacted the
younger
Montagu. During a trip to London, Earl met the Montagus at Parliament, where
the earl has a seat in the House of Lords.

"There was great chemistry," Earl said.

Robert Earl has been negotiating with Disney executives since he first became
involved in the project in England -- nearly three years ago -- to come to an
agreement to open the first shop at Disney World. He said he is pleased to
have obtained the Pantry space.

"I consider it to be the epicenter" of the Marketplace, he said. "We think
the number that pass our door is 10 million a year, so it will be a great
barometer."

Earl says he is also planning sites in New York and Chicago, but wants to
have the Disney store up and running first.

In a statement from Earl's Orlando headquarters, Lord Sandwich said, "It is
very exciting to be expanding into the United States and launching at Disney.
Robert and my family have worked together for more than a year to ensure that
our food is second to none."

The tale of how the sandwich came to be is an apocryphal one, although the
current earl gives credence to the most popular version of the story. "He
played
cards and needed to keep a hand free," he said of his ancestor. But he also
allows for variations in the story. "He also needed to sign a lot of papers."

And, "he was fond of women," which also required a free hand.

Scott Joseph can be reached at sjoseph@o... or 407-420-5514.




Interesting, huh?:)

Becky
 

Thanks so much for that, I appreciate it.

Does anyone have any word on what the theming will be like?
 


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