From serving up fan favorites like the Salvation or the regular turkey, Alvin Ord’s Sandwich Shop has supplied the San Marcos community with the best sandwiches for over three decades.
Located at 204 University Dr, Alvin Ord’s Sandwich shop sports a wild interior design with booths covered in graffiti, the shop welcomes customers to bring sharpies to write their own names, located right across the street from the university, the walls are littered with names of past bobcats.
Johnston’s mother, Gertrude Wallace, was famous in her community for her bread recipes. Johnston found the perfect ratio of meat, cheese and vegetables to put between that bread. With that, the Salvation sandwich was born.
Johnston opened a sandwich shop in Austin, Texas, and he eventually recruited the help of his nephews, Rick and John Skinner. In 1972, however, Johnston abandoned the shop to become a Trappist monk in Washington state. In 1978, Rick opened a new sandwich shop and named it Alvin Ord’s.
Alvin Ord’s has a history of making the best sandwiches from scratch, stemming from their namesake, Alvin Ord Johnston. Owner, Bill Martin said the secret is in doing things by hand.
“We start with baking from scratch,” Martin said. “We don’t buy bread products and put (them) in the oven. We start with water. It’s all sugar, yeast and flour.”
You can find more information about the shop on their Facebook page or their website at http://alvinordssanmarcos.com.
2nd place:The Root Cellar Cafe
3rd place: Jo’s Cafe