‘We can make anything you want.’ The Brown Bag serves sandwiches, more in Bradenton
The menu, situated above the counter, was designed to resemble a chalkboard. And the logo exemplifies what it was like bringing a brown paper bag for lunch at school.
It’s part of the experience at The Brown Bag, located at 440 Old Main Street, Bradenton.
The menu focuses on sandwiches for people on the go, but there is seating inside and outside for those wishing for a longer dining experience.
“That’s why we sell Yoo-hoos and little canned sodas and that kind of stuff,” Joey Bennett said. “... We have a fluffer nutter (sandwich). And, shockingly, we sell quite a bit of them.”
What’s popular?
Since opening in December, the restaurant’s popular sandwiches are the Cuban, Italian Grinder and Turkey Bacon Club. Sandwiches range in price from $7.50 for a peanut butter and jelly to $16 for the French Dip.
Although customers can order a more customized sandwich, if that’s their preference.
“We can make anything you want,” Bennett said. “Those just happen to be the ones we came up with.”
Bennett, who also owns Pour Decisions Saloon, Craftails Speakeasy and the recently opened Shuck It Raw Bar and Steamer House in downtown Bradenton, collaborated with his friend Matt McAllister on the logo.
McAllister, who does chalk art and murals, crafted restaurant’s logo: a brown paper bag behind a large sandwich piled high with ingredients.
“He’s kind of always been one of my really, really good friends and always kind of stepped in, because obviously he’s an artist,” Bennett said. “He did our design logo work for us and gave us a couple (of) options. He told us what he would pick and most of the time I follow his lead.”
Renovating the restaurant
Bennett, a Toms River, New Jersey native, was a bartender when he moved to the area in 2013. He said he always wanted to go into something for himself and had his dad, who owned his own body shop for years, as inspiration.
Bennett opened The Brown Bag in the space B’Towne Coffee Co. previously occupied for 17 years. It took three years before he could open after renovating the building.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Bennett said.
And so far, Bennett said the response from the community has been great.
“We have one guy that comes in and eats here every day,” Bennett said.
The restaurant is open daily, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Brown Bag will soon introduce late-night service on Fridays and Saturdays, Bennett said. Those hours tentatively would be 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
For more information, visit The Brown Bag’s Facebook page.
