Sandwich shop owners mark milestone in qathet

When chef Ruby and his wife Sorrel visited the qathet region a while back, they noticed something was missing as they drove down Marine Avenue. 

"There wasn't a place to grab a sandwich; a homemade one," said Ruby.

The couple took the leap and opened Saint Amore International Sandwiches one year ago, and said the shop has been more successful than expected.

"July 20 was our shop's one year anniversary, which was a big step for us," said chef Ruby. "When we were looking for a place to live, we saw that the former Great Balls of Wool space on Marine Avenue was for rent, which is also attached to a living space."

Sorrel is from qathet, but moved away years ago. Ruby grew up in Toronto, but said, on their visit, they both felt something special about the area where Sorrel grew up. 

"One thing led to another, and we wound up getting the building," said Ruby. "We're actually just ready to expand; we want to tear down the wall in the middle right and expand over to the other side and do live music and get a licence."

Many of Ruby's recipes are more than 100 years old, from his Portuguese great-grandfather's recipe book. All of the meat used is grass-fed and slow-cooked.

"I make my own hot sauce, and I only use organic hot peppers, and that's hard," said Ruby. "I use 14 fresh peppers, and it takes a day."

Ruby said his dad's side is Portuguese and his mom is Italian, so the aesthetic of the shop is a vintage, “kitchi-style” shop that would fit right into a Little Italy in Montreal or Toronto.

"When my grandpa died, his cookbook, which belonged to his dad – they were both red seal chefs – got passed onto me," said Ruby. "My great-grandpa worked for the number-one general in the army in Portugal."

That same general, said Ruby, was able to get his dad out of Portugal before he was drafted into the army to fight in the Angolan war.

"My grandpa owned the first Portuguese restaurant in Toronto," said Ruby. "He opened that in 1958 and he sold the business in 1975; it was kind of pivotal in the Portuguese community, because there were no other Portuguese restaurants in those days."

He said his marinara sauce for the meatball sandwich is from a 125-year-old recipe.

"I'm making it more like my great-grandpa did, with fresh basil," said Ruby. "The cookbook is written in Portuguese; my parents forced me to go to Portuguese school when I was a kid, so we learned how to read and write."

The kitchen is European style, with lots of room to move around. Since opening they said they have been overwhelmed by community support.

"I know for a small town, when you open up a business, it's not like opening in the city, but in the same breath, the local people tend to be more supportive," said Ruby.

Sorel said her mom and grandma were both born in Powell River. She moved away, but is happy to be back.

"We came back for a visit, and we took a walk down Marine Avenue and saw the for-rent-sign; he [Ruby] is the thinker behind it, because I would have never looked at a wool shop and thought 'I want to turn that into a sandwich shop.'" 

Sorrel said owning a business and it being her first one, the learning curve has been steep, but going smoother than she thought.

Some businesses are closed on Sunday and Monday on Marine Avenue, so they decided to open on those days, which has been a hit with customers.

"Potentially, we want to expand and offer lunch and dinner," said Ruby. "We envision the space to be more like a cozy pub or lounge with live music."

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