A Keswick takeaway sandwich shop has become an institution with local people and visitors alike by supplying them with fresh homemade produce to suit all tastes, 364 days a year.
Jan Jones, who owns Jan’s Lakeland Sandwich Shop, has kept her busy takeaway open during both the country’s coronavirus lockdowns with help from her “dream team” – manager Graham Sibson, Shaun Clark, Laura Sloan, and Venetia and Stacey Faunch.
The team at the small shop in Station Street pride themselves on providing exactly what their customers want – workers in the town who buy their lunch there daily, and walkers and other visitors who return there for the favourite tasty bite to keep them fuelled during their trip to the town – every day apart from Christmas Day.
The popular takeaway has been a part of the Station Street makeup for the last 20 years, with Jan taking over the business from her former boss Tony Lywood a decade ago when he retired, never looking back.
“It was hard work in the beginning but now I have a fantastic team around me, and I can manage to take time off,” said Jan.
“We are a bit of an institution with locals, many come for their lunch every day, and walkers come back during their holidays for their favourite sandwich to take out on the fells.
“I think part of our success is people like to see their sandwich made fresh in front of them. People can build their own sandwich, if they don’t like tomato or cucumber then we don’t put them in.”
The shop’s range of bread rolls are cooked fresh on the premises each day, and all the hot and cold sandwich fillings – which include vegetarian options – are homemade and freshly prepared.
Jan says that the most popular sandwich is still probably the old favourite chicken tikka, but the latest addition to the sandwich menu is The Reuben/Rachel home cure salt beef or turkey saddle with sauerkraut, Russian dressing, gherkins and Swiss cheese which is proving to be more and more popular.
“The salt beef is marinated for ten days and the sandwich itself is served with sauerkraut, gherkins, Russian dressing and topped with Emmental cheese, it really is a tasty bite,” she said.
Early riser options include a full English breakfast with tea and toast, while a variety of salad boxes and “specials” add to the wide ranging menu and cravings for sweet treats are satisfied with a range of cakes and tray bakes including Mars Bar crispy cake, and fresh fruits, with coffees, teas and hot chocolate available to wash it all down.
