Anybody Remember "Stewart Sandwiches"?

[Rtmjohnson]

I worked for Stewart for many years. I started as a maintenance man repairing the infra red ovens. I then started helping on sandwich routes then finally got my own route. After a few years, I was promoted to a supervisors position and joined the management training program. I was named the temporary manager of the Miami sales center, then promoted to manage the Baton Rouge sales center. All of this from 1971-1979.
What happened to Stewarts? Well like many stories this one has many vilians. The growth of a fast food restaurant on every corner, smaller local companies with lower overhead, but most importantly the FDA found listeria in the production plant in Norfolk VA. Bankruptcy followed and the lawyers tore up everything.

[devilsknew]

Why then, is it, that I saw Stewart sandwiches just a week or so ago at an Ohio Gas Station?

[Spud]

Originally Posted by devilsknew

Why then, is it, that I saw Stewart sandwiches just a week or so ago at an Ohio Gas Station?

Well, you don't want to let that old stock go to waste do you?

[TONE-TONE]

during my grade school time grades 1 thru 8, these became the greatest thing on earth. poor Mark Lentz eatting a cold Whopper, while most other kids had the hot dog, first 2 bites on either end were hot, the rest, stone cold. Mrs, Bruss and Ms. Russell didn't know how to work that new fangled oven well. Hamburger were also taste treats, but the best of all, the O'Boy. The crunchy bun with the cheese melted so well, it dripped out the bottom of the sandwhich.

[martyritz]

I think there is a strong business case to bring back Stewart Sandwiches, looking at this thread there seems to be a high demand for these tasty sandwiches. I hope that when I start the New Stewart sandwich company all of you are there to support me.
Coming to a catholic school near you.......... The New Stewart Sandwich Company

[ralph124c]

Great-now we can explore : "who makes those amazing hot dogs that rotate endlessly on those shiny bars"?
Quote: (Apu, from "The Simpsons"):"you are the only one who eats those hotdogs, Homer".

[Alanboyer]

Cotto salami, bologna american cheese on a toasted sub bun

[Whitley41]

I recently acquired one of this beautiful stainless steel encased heater....and it still works! Amazing! Has some minor rust on outside but otherwise door and elevator works unbelievably great...

If anyones still interested, I will be more than happy to post a few pictures of it.

[loosenuts]

I recall as a kid we used to by these sandwiches and my Dad would wrap them (still in the cellophane) in Tinfoil and toss them on the intake manifold of our pickup truck as we were pulling the Camper up the North Shore of Minnesota. When we got to our favorite resting place, Dad would pop the hood and we would all have a wonderful hot sandwich!

30 or more years ago, I worked at E.A. Sween (now known as DeliExpress) who bought the Minnesota Stewart Sandwiches franchise.

They used to have a freezer in the employee cafeteria filled with frozen food that was too close to expiration to ship out and it was FREE to the employees.
Man me and my room mate lived on Burritos, Pizzas, Heroes for a year.

[terentii]

Chuckwagons, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

From 1960 to '67, my dad used to take my brother and me to Flying Cloud Airport outside the Twin Cities on weekends; we would hang around all day and occasionally bum rides in light airplanes from the flight instructors. I'll never forget the Stewart Sandwiches they used to sell there, or the toaster oven they had to be heated up in. Those hot dogs with the charred edges on the buns---superb! Just the kind of thing a kid growing up would devour all day when far from home.

[terentii]

Come to think of it, didn't Roger Awsomb occasionally have a Stewart Sandwich on WTCN's "Lunch with Casey" back in the '60s? (Anyone who grew up then in Minneapolis or St Paul will know what I'm talking about.)

[Squirrel1162]

Originally Posted by Rtmjohnson

I worked for Stewart for many years. I started as a maintenance man repairing the infra red ovens. I then started helping on sandwich routes then finally got my own route. After a few years, I was promoted to a supervisors position and joined the management training program. I was named the temporary manager of the Miami sales center, then promoted to manage the Baton Rouge sales center. All of this from 1971-1979.
What happened to Stewarts? Well like many stories this one has many vilians. The growth of a fast food restaurant on every corner, smaller local companies with lower overhead, but most importantly the FDA found listeria in the production plant in Norfolk VA. Bankruptcy followed and the lawyers tore up everything.

I actually drove for Stewart Sandwiches between about 1978 & 1980. I loved their cheeseburgers and subs. Sometimes I would eat the sub cold or heat it in the oven you described. MMMMM.....MMMMMMMMMMM..........MMM!!!! LOL! Wish they were around today. Landshire couldn't hold a candle to them.

[Gene Keyser WV]

I've wished for years I could have another Cattleman's Special. It was a beef patty with a pat of butter and little onion pieces on top of the bun. It may be the same as someone has already mentioned, though by another name. He mentioned butter and onion, but not that the onion was on top of the bun. In the 70's, our HS had open campus at lunch to leave school if we wanted. We went to one of the local drug stores and had Stewart Sandwiches and cherry cokes. Also loved the Torpedo's and hotdogs. The place was called Romigs Drug Store. They had a counter with the swivel seats, and also the booths with a jukebox selection at every booth. A throwback from the 50's, I guess. Maybe even further back. My friends still talk about the sandwiches accasionally. They were good, at least back then they seemed to be. Thank you all for adding to the memories.

[Roger the Sage]

Oh, wow do I remember Stewart Hot Sandwiches! There was a neighborhood grocery a block and a half from from my house that had a pinball room in the back. I guess I was bout 12-15 when we we all were hanging there. They had Stewart Sandwiches and they seemed to keep us alive thru those days! The Cattleman's Special was the best by far. Thats the one that had the beef patty on an onion roll, some diced onions on it and a big fat pat of butter that just greased up the whole thing! You just couldn't wait for that timer bell to ring! Mmm mmm.

[Princhester]

Originally Posted by billfish678

And somebody better get a lawyer now that I know how my uncle was killed in that cranberry bog years ago.

He ate a sandwich he found in a bog? What did he expect?

[TomT]

I noticed your post...My father was the managing partner for Stewart Sandwich franchise in the Pacific NW starting in the early 50s. I worked there off & on through my high school & college years in the Late 60s & early 70s. At one time were producing up to 150,000 sandwiches per day.

The sandwiches were great...heated & toasted with an infrared light inside a sheet metal enclosure...Sort of like an easy bake oven on steroids. Hence the full name of the company was Stewart Infrared Sandwiches. They had a Quiznos type crunchy texture & flavor...Keep in mind this was 20 years before Subway & Quiznos was even an idea. McDonalds was still in it's infancy.

The cellophane wrappers were a great invention not unlike what we use today to wrap food for reheating in a microwave. The trick to not burning the cellophane was to make sure the sandwich was not frozen when it was put in the infrared oven. It was all about timing....because the cellophane would burn.... It was better to slice open the wrapper for a toastier sandwich.

We used imported cheeses and quality meats from companies like Armour and others. We were the #1 bread customer to local bakeries. When the microwave was invented in the late 60s..there was pressure to provide small microwaves to our customers. This really took a toll on the quality control of our product...microwaves turn meat & bread into rubber & cheese into liquid. People didn't know how to use them yet.

In the late 80s, we disenfranchised from the Stewart name...the name was changed to Scotty's Sandwiches. Stewart Sandwich Corp provided little more than a name. Each franchise was responsible for their own product lines and quality control. Our NW franchise another whole line of deli style cold sandwiches in the 1970s.

Even after my father’s death in the early 90s... I continued to represent the family & attend corporate meetings until about 2000. With the continued consumer choices & competition in fast food and lack of quality control in ingredients and preparation we began to see drastic drop in market share. Many of our convenience store customers began to produce their own sandwiches. One chain called "Plaid Pantry" even cut a deal with Subway to set-up in-house with them. We sold the company in 2000 to a food distributor in Eastern, Oregon. Some franchises lasted a little longer in other parts of the country....but they all eventually met the same outcome.

Thank you for you interest...responding to you has brought back some great memories.. If you or anyone else has questions...I would be happy to respond directly... My e-mail is

TomTVA@aol.com

Regards,
Tom Trullinger

[enalzi]

Anyone else get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever this topic gets bumped back up?

[Amateur Barbarian]

Originally Posted by ralph124c

Imagine if they had these things today-the cellophane probably outgassed a ton of chemicals into the sandwich-probably not too good for you!

The precursor of Zik-Zak Burger Paks... the ones where the plastic rubs off on the meat and doubles the nutritional value!

[BMalion]

Thank you Tom, that was great!

[Fenris]

They had a sandwich which was (inexplicably) named a "Poor-Boy"*. It was kind of a submarine sandwich on very soft hoagie bun (think of a hoagie bun, but with the texture of a hot-dog bun). It had salami, bologna, ham and (I think) two types of cheese.

I was addicted to those things. The name may have been weird but....damn...it was delicous. And whatever type of cheese(s) it was, they were wonderful.

*IIRC, Po'Boys are fried seafood (oysters traditionally) on a hot-dog bun type thing

[terentii]

Originally Posted by Fenris

They had a sandwich which was (inexplicably) named a "Poor-Boy"*. It was kind of a submarine sandwich on very soft hoagie bun (think of a hoagie bun, but with the texture of a hot-dog bun). It had salami, bologna, ham and (I think) two types of cheese.

*IIRC, Po'Boys are fried seafood (oysters traditionally) on a hot-dog bun type thing

"Poor Boy" is another regional name for what we called "Submarine" sandwiches in Minnesota. In other parts of the US, they're known as "Grinders," "Torpedoes," "Hoagies," and Lord knows what else.

"Po' Boys" such as you describe I've never heard of outside Louisiana.

[terentii]

They were originally working-class "all-in-one" lunchpail sandwiches, hence the name "Poor Boy."

[Fenris]

I did not know that! I'd only heard of the fried seafood inna bun version. Thanks for the info!

Regardless, though, Stewart's were unbelievably good for some reason.