Once upon a time, it was Hadestown tech week. The seniors all left before stunch; all my friends were gone, except Scarlett. As the only two people not in Hadestown, we ate lunch sadly and silently. After a couple days of this, we decided to go get lunch at the Thomas Hooker cafe. But alas, it was Tuesday, and they were closed. In Ms. Lee’s B4 class, 20 minutes before we could escape using our senior early dismissal privileges, we looked up “restaurant” on Google maps. Our grand plan, clearly masterminded. One of the closest places to the school was Jerry’s Sandwich Shop. Never heard of it. Scarlett needed to take the bus home, but we could totally make it there and back in 75 minutes. We looked at the menu online and decided to go – nothing better to do, right?
12:55. I followed Waze to the parking lot. It looked like an apartment building. There was no restaurant. I pulled out and drove around some more, looking for a sign – physical or spiritual would both be accepted. Nothing.
1:15. In disbelief and confusion, I pulled into the Dunkin to park and look at the map. I thought Waze might be mistaken, so we looked at Apple maps. You know what Apple maps has? Reviews. These reviews saved us. The top one read, “ Great hole-in-the-wall place! Literally! It’s inside of a medical building, but so worth it!” Okay… So maybe it was in that building that Waze took us to.
1:25. We’re so back. In the parking lot, I mean. The spots were all full, but there were a few cars parallel parked on the curb. After amazingly, skillfully, beautifully, wonderfully, and greatly parallel parking, we walked to the building and opened the door. It was an office building. Through the glass of the second pair of double doors of the vestibule, there were people. Business formal wear, business formal chats, business formal work. We were in the office. Well, we might as well have been. It was terrifying. We turned around and walked right out.
1:30. We were about to give up. “Maybe it’s around the back,” Scarlett said, partially joking, partially desperate. Were we really about to go home hungry? We walked around the side. The only other door was right next to the main door, and it was a Walgreens. “Maybe it’s in the Walgreens.” She had already been grasping at straws before; this was trying to catch particles of dust from the air. But, we went into the Walgreens. Normally, even the on-site pharmacy for a doctors’ office has over the counter items and snacks. There was nothing. Just an empty white room with the counter. I tried leaving, but the pharmacist saw us. She asked if we needed anything. I said no and tried to escape. Scarlett, fearless Scarlett, said, “Yeah, we’re looking for this restaurant – what’s it called?” and with an entirely red face because oh my god this is so stupid and embarrassing, I said, “Jerry’s Sandwich Shop.”
And the pharmacist went, “Oh yeah, it’s downstairs.”
Oh. Okay.
We entered the stairwell, after I first opened the door to the bathroom because I thought the stairwell door was an office. We shivered. The handrail shined with the color of blood. The exposed pipes, too, crept overhead, crimson in the worst way. Everything else was off-white. Or maybe it was white. The lighting wasn’t exactly dim, but unbalanced. We had just stepped into a horror movie. We started walking down the stairs. We got to the bottom, and were faced with a wall, the ruddy pipes having followed us to the end, caging us within the stairwell. We were about to be murdered. We turned to the left and went out the very obvious, very open door.
Into a lounge. We were so not where we belonged. Yet, we were hungry; we had made it.
1:35. We walked past the lounge into a little room with a few tables. We had arrived. Considering the 8 minute drive back to school, and the fact that the shop closed at 2, we had 25 minutes to get food. We ordered. I got the chicken California club wrap and home fries (oh yeah, you know they have a breakfast menu too) and Scarlett got the 919 burger with fries. While we were waiting, they closed the door to the room/shop. They were just pre-closing, but considering our whole journey and the unmarked-white-van appearance of the building, it was kind of scary. After maybe 15 minutes, we got our food and paid. They might have just rushed because they wanted us to leave before closing, but seriously, the speed was impressive. We got back in my car and I K-turned horrifically, disgustingly, embarrassingly, disruptively, and terribly, and drove back to school.
1:45. Finally, we could relax, and more importantly, we could eat. We opened our to-go boxes and took a bite. The crispy chicken, the smooth perfectly ripe avocado, the smoky bacon, the pop of sweet tomato, and crunch of lettuce graced my mouth and touched my heart. I looked at Scarlett. Scarlett looked at me. Cautiously, she asked, “Is yours, like, really good? Because mine is insane.”
Jerry’s Sandwich Shop is a precious treasure that we stumbled upon by chance. I brought some of my other friends a couple weeks later so they could gaze upon her beauty, and they went from non-believers to wholehearted supporters of Jerry’s Sandwich Shop within one bite. The next day, they already wanted to go back. I wanted to gatekeep this place, it’s so good. But I am kind, and their sandwiches deserve attention. Also, essentially, they close at 2 and are only open on weekdays, so only seniors with senior privilege and a car can really go, which seriously limits the number of people who are able to go. But remember, I am kind and altruistic; that’s totally the main reason and biggest takeaway.
Check out their menu and other information on their website, which would have been helpful to have before this experience: https://www.jerryssandwichshop.com/menus/
How to get there
Trust the GPS, despite your better judgement. Go into the building, the door under the awning. Go through the next set of doors of the vestibule. The door to the stairwell is to your immediate right. Go all the way down the stairs and turn right. The restaurant is just one room, but you can clearly see the tables and chairs from the hall. If the door is closed, you’re too late. Oh well.
Customer Testimonials
I ordered the 919 burger. The toppings: runny egg, mayo, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a little bit of meat sprinkled on top of the burger. It wasn’t bacon, but it was different from the burger: cooked and seasoned differently. As I bit into that delicious burger, I could hear the sound of church bells and mourning doves. I was transformed by the taste, texture, and seasoning of that burger. I thought of all the burger places I had loved before, and how they paled in comparison to the burger I was eating. Oh, Jerry’s Sandwich Shop. Please come back. I need to taste your forbidden fruits again. I am empty without that burger in my hand.
– Anonymous
All of my friends hate me. They all judged me for getting my cheeseburger well done and plain. I understand their complaints; however, I think they judged too quickly. My burger arrived quickly and was delicious. Also juicy, even though all my friends said “It’ll be dry!!!” T’wasn’t. Would go here again. Will go here again.
– Elise Snow
My god, it was perfection. I drool at night when remembering that burger. The onions and savory seasonings paired so nicely with the blue cheese topping. My taste buds came to life and danced. I almost cried. I need it again. #needthat burger
– Happy customer
