Sunday, December 03, 2006

The Dagwood Sandwich is a Dream Come True

For Dean Young, the idea of opening a sandwich shop that would epitomize the culinary mastery of his legendary sandwich champion, Dagwood Bumstead, involved an early-life epiphany of epical proportions. It came to him the first time he wrapped his lips around one of those over-sized, beauteous masterpieces that New York City delicatessens are famous for.

After uttering “Gees Louise, these are Dagwood sandwiches! Dagwood should have a restaurant that serves these babies,” Young said, “Well, maybe not as big as the skyscrapers that Dagwood makes, but certainly with a lot of unique flavorful ingredients that make your mouth water.”

Young has been the creator of the 75-year-old “Blondie” comic strip since 1973 when his father, Chic Young, the strip’s originator, died. Since then, Young’s thoughts and those of Dagwood have been “one and the same.” And all along, Young has been collecting and creating sandwich recipes that he hoped would one day appear in a special comic-strip theme restaurant . . . living up to America’s most recognizable comic and sandwich icons: Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead.

As the first Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppe prepares to open this summer in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, and Young and his partners begin selling Market Partnerships that will add his vision to the landscape of communities around the country, Dean Young has truly realized his dream.

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