You’ll be able to get your Alvin Ord’s sandwiches in Bluffton very soon

There’s a right way and a wrong way to make a sandwich.

At Alvin Ord’s, the right way is to bake the bread the night before and let it rest. Then add cheese to the bread and pop both in the oven so the cheese is melted into the bread. Repeat, this time with meat. Take it out, add the condiments and wrap the sandwich in white butcher paper.

“You don’t just ‘make a sandwich,’ it’s a production line,” said Eric Lunde, one of the partners for the sandwich shop’s new Bluffton location on May River Road.

The menu will be an exact replica of the one crafted by Tom Lewis at the Alvin Ord’s in Port Royal, a longtime favorite north of the Broad River.

Lunde, his son Christopher and their other partner, Corri McKenzie, plan to hold a grand opening July 26, a little later than they had originally planned. Employees were sent to Port Royal to learn the Alvin Ord’s way of making sandwich from Lewis, but the biggest hit for the shop has been the oven. Lunde said it broke down Thursday.

“(The oven is) critical to the operation,” he said. “So we’re in the process of getting it repaired.”

Fans of the Alvin Ord’s in Port Royal will notice some differences in the Bluffton shop. The 1,500 square feet in Bluffton looks huge compared to the 650-square-foot store in Port Royal — and the south of the Broad location will have a pet-friendly porch.

Lunde said that once they get the sandwiches part of the business in order, the shop plans to offer salads, an artisan bakery with breads, baguettes, cinnamon buns, pastries and possibly quiches, as well as beer and wine.

The shop does not have its liquor license yet, but Lunde said he and his partners were two-thirds of the way through the process and should obtain it within the coming weeks.

According to Lunde, the partners are also considering a stand in the Bluffton Farmer’s Market, a carry-out feature and delivery of 10 or more sandwiches within the town limits. But the most important thing will always be the production line.

“Our main focus is to get the sandwich shop going and 100 percent right,” he said.

The Bluffton shop will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and will be closed on Mondays.

Details: 843-757-1300

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 12:26 PM with the headline "You’ll be able to get your Alvin Ord’s sandwiches in Bluffton very soon."