When I lived and worked in New York, I often had lunch in the office and, more times than not, I ordered a sandwich from a local deli. It was good but unmemorable. Now in Santa Fe, I often get a Mexican meal, a burrito, tacos, or a quesadilla. I still eat at my desk, but I missed those New York sandwiches.
When I was working at a not-for-profit institution off St. Michaels Drive, a commercial area and not in the center city where most tourists go, I came across Mucho Gourmet Sandwich Shoppe in a mall on Llano, a side Street. What a godsend!
Mucho translates as “a lot” and that is what you get at Mucho Sandwich. I think of it along the lines of a Jewish deli in New York where they make sandwiches with gusto. It took only one visit for me to join the ranks of the regulars.
Wanting to learn more about this extraordinary establishment, I interviewed Shannon, who presides at the counter. Mucho was founded in 1989 by her parents, Peggy and Rex Schnupp, who wanted to start a small business when they moved to Santa Fe. Within a few years their children, Shannon and her brother Nathan, joined the company, and today they run it, keeping it a family operation.
Shannon gets in around 8:15 A.M. and makes the soups and most of the deserts and makes sure everything is running smoothly in the kitchen. They already have orders from the day before to prepare. Nathan starts taking phone orders at 9:00A.M., and the phone does not stop ringing until after the lunch hour.
He and his sister continue to work full out from the minute they unlock their doors at 11:00 A.M., when they open to the public, until 3:00 P.M., when Nathan no longer answers the phone, and Mucho is closed. By the time they open, every flat surface in the place is covered with boxes filled with bags of sandwiches for pick-up and delivery.
Shannon, always in a good mood as she works like a whirling dervish, yet seems perfectly calm when she takes your order. First, she puts your name on the sandwich bag, checks off the sandwich you picked, and adds any modifications. If you come in a few times, she will call you by name when you get to the front of the line! I once mentioned to a client of mine who had not been in for a couple of years, and she remembered his favorite sandwich and how he liked it modified!!
There is an incredible choice of sandwiches, and below is one side of the menu. A typical order might be a sandwich, a small bag of potato chips from a wide choice of flavors, and a large drink. As said, nothing is small here. A friend of mine goes just for the salads for his wife and his dinner. One of the most popular sandwiches is the Turkey Surprise, which is also known as the Thanksgiving Sandwich because it includes not only turkey and stuffing but cranberry sauce as well.
Monday to Friday, they are making a minimum of 300 sandwiches and salads. I asked Shannon what their largest single order was, and she answered that they once had an order from State Farm Insurance for 1500 sandwiches. To calculate the volume another way, they order 100,000 sandwich bags a year! On a regular basis, they have orders from hospitals, attorneys’ offices, schools, and the state government. I personally know of a couple of boards of directors that order from their for meetings. Mucho places orders every evening from its roughly 10 vendors, which are delivered the next morning. Nathan used to make the deliveries as well, but the volume became too great, and they have two relatives with SUVs to make those deliveries all over town.
Behind the lines, you can see four women smiling and chatting with their colleagues as they make all those sandwiches and salads nonstop. Two men work at the grill for the hot sandwiches. There is a large oven specifically for making their delicious crisp bacon. Huge bowls hold the lettuce that is used liberally in many of their sandwiches as well as salads. Of course, there is also a backup staff for washing dishes, etc.
There is camaraderie among their customers online as they chat while they wait briefly for their sandwiches. The pre-orders are already waiting in a box for easy takeout.
Hungry yet? Don’t be surprised if you take your Mucho sandwich out of the bag and find they sneaked in a cookie, unasked.
