66 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • FEBRUARY 14, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
dining out
Photo courtesy of Nick Giovanniello
‘The Sandwich King’
begins reign in LIC
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Th e wait is over for Th e Sandwich King
— the much-anticipated gourmet sandwich
shop is fi nally opened in Long Island
City.
Owner Nick Giovanniello’s shop is up
and running at 47-31 Vernon Blvd. aft er
an unforeseen setback caused him to
postpone his original May 2018 opening
date.
According to Giovanniello, he and
his staff were “ready to roll” when the
Department of Buildings (DOB) found a
gas leak in the building and ordered the
gas to be shut off . Th e owner said it took
months for the building’s landlord to
contract workers and for the workers to
complete the proper repairs.
He was given the “OK” to open the
shop right before Christmas but decided
to wait until aft er the holidays to have his
soft opening on Jan. 10.
“We were bum rushed,” Giovanniello
said. “I think taking so long to open
worked out in our favor because there was
so much anticipation and buzz about it.”
Giovanniello’s career path prior to
opening up the gourmet sandwich
shop was not a linear one. He drove a
truck, worked for the Department of
Transportation and was an employee
at a mobile car wash before making his
fi rst foray into running his own restaurant.
“Th ey say if you do something you love,
you’ll never work a day in your life,” he
said, adding that he wanted to fi nd that
feeling in the next job that he took.
He became a partner at Sergio’s on the
Boulevard pizzeria in Long Island City
but felt the urge to branch out on his own.
He shared that he had always wanted to
open an Italian or Spanish restaurant, so
a friend gave him the idea to open up his
own sandwich shop called “Reubens and
Cubans.”
“I didn’t like the name but I liked the
idea,” he recalled and set out to learn
everything about the sandwich and deli
business.
Giovanniello learned the deli business
from the owner of Sapienza in Howard
Beach, who taught him to make the pastrami
for the shop’s signature sandwich.
But he also credits much of his success
to his family, particularly his father who
he said “taught me everything I know
in life.”
Th e store’s name was born out of him
sharing with his family that he wanted to
be “known for the best” and so his father
came up with the name “Th e Sandwich
King.” Th e shop owner said that his father
was also the one who taught him the
importance of having a “spotless and
clean” business operation.
In addition to the signature pastrami,
other sandwiches include the “Mikey
Bangz,” a chicken cutlet hero named for
his older brother, the self-named “Nicky
Cash” which features prosciutto and
fresh mozzarella and “Th e Williamsburg
Windmill,” a roast beef sandwich named
for his grandfather who was a famous
boxer in the 1950s.
Th e Sandwich King is currently opened
seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
from Monday to Saturday and 6 a.m. to a
to-be-determined time on Sundays.
Giovanniello at The Sandwich King
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