In the Washington Post, Young & Hungry alum Tim Carman travels with Taylor Gourmet's Casey Patten and David Mazza on a research trip to Philadelphia to taste-test rolls for the partners' forthcoming cheesesteak shop, Taylor Charles Steak & Ice, on H Street N.E.
You might remember the Taylor guys from last year's City Paper cover story on how their popular sandwich shop built its reputation on importing fresh hoagies from Philly's venerable Sarcone's Bakery every morning -- then later switched to a local bread baker and conveniently forgot tell anyone about the change-up. Until former Y&H contributor Scott Reitz broke the news, that is. (Read the full article here.)
The Taylor gang claims to have learned from that bready brouhaha, as Carman reports:
The guys weren't going to repeat any of those mistakes. They were going to make their own cheesesteak rolls, and they were going to tell people from the start. "We're growing, and we're learning -- and that's with almost everything we do," said Patten, as the budding Taylor empire is set to grow to five locations next year.
"I'm very quick to make a decision on the fly and want it implemented yesterday, but as we grow... we're building a different kind of corporate structure here. [Strategic] rollouts have to take place."
Rolling With The Punches: Taylor Gourmet Guys Learn From Bread Debacle was originally published by Washington City Paper on Sept. 14, 2011.
