Chef Isaac Houger's idea to sell breakfast sandwiches at his restaurant Peace Pie began as a creative way to navigate the pandemic. But recently, that endeavor took flight in the form of a new drive-thru restaurant, Sandos.
"Sandos kind of came to be because I already had a product and I had a following, and I was offered the space to take over," he says. "It's kind of a beautiful thing. The sandwiches saved my business once, and they're doing a pretty good job this time."
Sandos' signature is breakfast sandwiches ($9), which come with bacon or a house-made sausage patty as well as vegetarian options. The classic breakfast sando has scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, arugula, and sweet and spicy aioli. Each sandwich features a house-made garlic knot, a signature item at Peace Pie, or a gluten-free bun for an additional $2.
If you're craving some heat to kick-start your morning, all breakfast items can be taken up a notch by ordering the spicy "hot" version, which comes with Iguana Gold hot sauce.
For lunch, Sandos' Italian sandwich ($11) is made with house-made ham, salami and pepperoni, topped with cheese, vegetables and creamy Italian vinaigrette. Houger says it's already become a bestseller. Other lunch sandwiches are chicken salad, egg salad, and ham and brie ($10 each).
As breakfast is Sandos primary focus, there's also coffee ($2.25-$4), Lotus Energy drinks ($4.25-$5) and other beverages to offer a pick-me-up for the morning.
"Sandos was designed to be like a hangover cure," Houger says. "We have Pedialyte and Liquid IV on the menu, so like, basically I want to fix everybody from a long night of drinking, which is Spokane's favorite pastime."
The stand's small size (formerly home of Taco Vado, which is moving to a larger space nearby and has yet to reopen) created some challenges at first, Houger says, adding that it's been a fun one to navigate. He and his team do the majority of prep and cooking at Peace Pie and transport food to the stand every day.
"We could not possibly do what we are doing there if it was just the stand itself," he says. "I'm really fortunate to be able to have Peace Pie to be able to bounce the business off of."
Houger and his team make everything that they can from scratch, giving Sandos a level of quality he feels sets them apart. While he loves the attention to detail this gives him over the food, it doesn't come without challenges.
"Keeping up with the demand has been challenging," he says. "My ham, for instance, it takes seven days to make. It's a really long process, so when we're out of something, it's not that we're too lazy to go to the store, it's that my ham is three days out still. It's one of those scenarios where I can't really rush it."
Houger plans to begin adding specials to the menu in the coming months and eventually hopes to host pop-up events to sell late-night sandwiches to people enjoying Spokane's nightlife.
"The community response to this project has been insane. I did not expect it. And it's rad to see," he says. "I just want to give something back to the community that shows up for us and be able to be part of people's day." ♦
Sandos • 1602 N. Ash St. • Open Mon- Sat 6 am-3 pm • sandosspokane.com
