A steady stream of customers is flowing into Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop at Fig Garden Village in northwest Fresno.

Javier Gomez, who recently brought the chain to Fresno, is already thinking of opening a second store.

“We are we are working currently with different brokers to help us find a good location,” Gomez said. “We are looking to expand to the Clovis community.”

The Fig Garden location opened in March and is the national chain’s first shop in the Central Valley. The chain has 10 shops in California.

The Pandemic Risk

Gomez, who also operates 11 Rally’s, discovered Capriotti’s in Las Vegas during a business trip.

“I tried one of the sandwiches and I just had to bring it back into the Fresno Valley. I fell in love with it at the first bite,” Gomez said.

But, opening up during a pandemic had its challenges.

“The pandemic really got me worried in the beginning. But seeing that where we’re going and with more of our food was to take out, I had to take the risk,” Gomez said.

It helped, Gomez said, that his sandwiches “travel very well.” Translation: They still taste freshly made 30 minutes later.

Another challenge was finding employees.

“Hiring was pretty difficult during the pandemic because kids are still afraid of coming, working within close quarters,” Gomez said.

He hired 20 employees at the start and is now looking for more.

Specialties: Thanksgiving in a Bun and Massaged Cow Beef

The top sandwich at Capriotti’s is The Bobbie ($10.49 for a medium). It features turkey, cranberry sauce, mayo, and stuffing.

“You can have Thanksgiving leftovers, dinner every day of the week,” Gomez said. “You don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to get it.”

Gomez said baking the turkey overnight for 12 hours makes the Bobbie special.

“Every morning, we get the turkey, we shred it, and we make all of our Bobbies with fresh baked turkey,” Gomez said.

Capriotti’s also serves premium Wagyu beef in a variety of sandwiches, including a roast beef, “Slaw Be Jo,” and cheesesteak. All sell for $11.49 for a medium size.

What makes Wagyu unique?

“The cows are massaged and fed all corn,” Gomez said. The special treatment improves the Wagyu beef fat content.

Customers told GV Wire that gives Wagyu a more flavorful beef versus other cheesesteaks they have tried.

Gourmet Food

The price point at Capriotti’s might be higher than chains such as Subway and Togo’s. Gomez said his sandwiches are worth it.

“The quality of sandwiches is more of a higher end. It is more of a quality sandwich. We don’t slice our meat. It is more of a diced meat,” Gomez said. “We do a lot of gourmet cooking. A lot of preparation goes into our daily menu.”

Terry Campbell is a returning customer. His favorite sandwich is the Slaw Be Jo.

“It’s always fun to try out a new restaurant. So my wife and I did, and the service was fantastic and the food was even better,” Campbell said. “The bread’s fresh. It’s tender and really flavorful.”