What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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featured dining guide story Advertorial Feature by KAREN RICE | NwA DEmoCRAt-GAzEttE Schlotzsky's succeeds with fresh ingredients and "the best bread around" Building from scratch 42 What's up! auGust 12 - 18, 2018 J.J Ramsey has quite a history with Schlotzsky's. He's worked for the restaurant chain, in many roles, since he was 14. He met his wife, Hortencia, at corporate in Austin. Now, the couple owns and operates three Schlotzsky's restaurants—in Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale. The family takes pride in their community, and in their eateries. "We live locally, we have three kids," he said. "We live and breathe Schlotzsky's, there's no doubt. We're at the restaurants every day. We love it. We think you'll love it too." The Bread J.J. believes it's the fresh, from-scratch bread and fresh ingredients that set Schlotzsky's apart from the competition. "The appeal, without doubt and above everything else is our bread," J.J. raved. "We bake it from scratch, every single day. No one does that as far as I know. We have the best bread around. Nothing compares to it. No one comes close. You can't mimic it, you can't make it at home for sure. That's what sets us apart—our fresh ingredients and our bread made from scratch." The Original® and beyond For the first two years of operation, Schlotzsky's sold one sandwich, and one sandwich only—The Original®. As a teenager, J.J. ate it all the time. When asked what he likes best all these years later, he doesn't hesitate. "The Original®. It's still my favorite," he replied. "It's been around since 1971. It's still about The Original®." Customers agree. The Original® is still the number one seller at the restaurant. A house-made sourdough bun is piled high with lean smoked ham, two kinds of salami, three cheeses, black olives, red onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard and the restaurant's signature sauce. "That's how it started, and that's what we're known for," J.J. said. "But we have so many great things now, and such a big menu." In the sandwich category alone, there are about 20 choices, with different size and wrap options available for each. The Tuscan is one of seven specialty sandwiches. J.J says everyone he's sold it to loves it. It features turkey, bacon, provolone and swiss, roasted red peppers, tomato, field greens, cilantro, chipotle pesto and avocado on a toasted Italian ciabatta roll. The Original®, where it all began The Pastrami Rueben sandwich