By Danny Kelleher
Sports Editor
The restaurant has combined the old, laid back feel of the quiet surf town that Manhattan Beach once was with fresh, innovative cooking and a progressive mentality at low prices since its opening in 2007.
“I worked at Papa Jake’s Sub Shop, the place that used to be here, from 1993 to 1998. After I graduated high school, I moved away for a while and came back I thought just for a vacation,” White said.
When White returned to Manhattan Beach, he ran into the owner of the eponymous Papa Jake’s, who told him that he was selling the restaurant.
“He gave me the first shot at purchasing it before it went on the open market, and I took the opportunity,” White said.
The sub shop has been recognized for outstanding sandwiches by both Los Angeles Weekly for the TH-Cubano sandwich, or “THC,” and by the Easy Reader for its Philly cheesesteak. Both times, the restaurant was submitted for consideration to the magazines anonymously.
“One day, like 20 people came in and asked for the THC. The whole time I was thinking, ‘This is a little weird…’ Then the next day, a guy came in and said he wanted the one from the magazine. I had not even heard anything about it, no phone call, no email, nothing at all until then,” White said.
Although business is going smoothly for the restaurant now, White admits that making money was not always as easy as it currently is at Sando’s.
“When I first started out with this place, it was really hard to stay in line. I had gotten lucky and gotten a loan to get the restaurant up and running and times were kind of tough. I found it hard to show up to work sometimes,” White said.
Although he has been very focused on the sandwich shop since 2007, White still reminisces about his Costa days.
“During my sophomore year at Mira Costa, I went on independent study to try to get my act together and improve my grades,” White said. “For my junior year, I briefly came back and then did the same exact thing. I was not a very good student when I was in high school.”
White takes pride in the quality of the food that is served at his restaurant. He believes that having a true knowledge of cooking makes him one of the premier sandwich makers in Manhattan Beach.
“I love this place. I can’t even bare to go into Subway anymore. These sandwiches are flat-out amazing,” junior Hunter Sartini said.
“Although White is frequently busy maintaining his restaurant, he can still manage to find time to enjoy the lifestyle of the South Bay.
“I just surfed all Thanksgiving morning. It was awesome. The waves were fantastic. I always see [Mira Costa math teacher] Mike Ninnis when I am out in the ocean, and he always paddles up to me and jams me on the inside so I can’t catch the wave,” White said.
White feels that the same principle about passion applies to all people. He believes that he is a standing representation of what can be accomplished with hard work.
“Everyone needs to find something they are good at and stick with it,” White said. “I knew that I would never want to sit at a desk. A restaurant is a fun environment, and it is only better when you own the one you work at.”
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