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.)
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.
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.
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.
He ate a sandwich he found in a bog? What did he expect?
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
Regards,
Tom Trullinger
Anyone else get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever this topic gets bumped back up?
The precursor of Zik-Zak Burger Paks… the ones where the plastic rubs off on the meat and doubles the nutritional value!
Thank you Tom, that was great!
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
“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.
They were originally working-class “all-in-one” lunchpail sandwiches, hence the name “Poor Boy.”
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.
To me the best sandwich was the Torpedo. Chuckwagon was a close second. I used to eat these when I was in high school. Do they have any of these sandwiches anywhere to purchase? Any help would really be appreciated!
The Stewart family lived on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and ran the business in an office behind their home. They sold the company to Campbell Soup in the early 70s. If anyone knows Collis Stewart, Jr., I’d appreciate a message.
Stewart Sandwiches were cooked in infrared machines. The infrared didn’t melt the plastic, but it sure ran up the electric bill. Today’s infrared cookers are based on this original technology that dates back to the 50s.
The Stewart family sold the company to Campbell Soup in the early 70s and for the most part retired. The oldest son, Collie Stewart maintained a couple of the commissaries in Arizona and somewhere else, may still be managing them.
My father, Stanley Puckett, owned the Indianapolis franchise, and my grandfather, Glenn Puckett, sold many of the franchises. I worked as the office manager, as did my sister before me. The shop used to be on 10th street across from the zoo and then he moved it to Raymond across from Tupperware. I used to go to the conventions and tours in Norfolk, Virginia. It was a Huge business. We really got a huge jump supplying to Indianapolis public schools. The sandwiches WERE amazing and so very simple. The ladies in the back just slapped lunchmeat on the buns and the machine carried them down the line. The worst job was boxing them a dozen to a box because of the nasty paper cuts!
It’s your E-Bay store. Looks like you’re trying to sell.
The only place allowed here for that is the Marketplace forum. Buy a membership and you can post there.
It is cool you found the clock, and nice that you found this message board. We’d probably be happy to help you find out more info on items that you pick, but technically it is against the rules to post links to items you have for sale.
Please don’t let this scare you away… stay awhile… read some threads, share the expertise you have in your picking adventures… just don’t post links to items for sale, unless you pay the membership fee and post in the marketplace.