by Ayesha Wise, Downtown Kitchen Assistant Manager
July 2018
Co-op Deli + Avenue Bread = A Match Made in Sandwich Heaven
Our Banh Mi and Cubano are both built on Avenue Bread’s ciabatta; a white-flour, Italian-style bread with a spongy consistency similar to French baguettes.
As you may have noticed, the Co-op is sporting some new grab-and-go sandwiches. We started producing them at the end of 2017 and I am excited to present our new partnership with Avenue Bread Bakery, which is taking our sandwiches to an even higher level of deliciousness.
The new sandwich options include the Rueben, Cubano, Banh Mi, our daily breakfast English muffins, and the newest release, a vegan chickpea salad sandwich. The Co-op takes pride in partnering with local businesses, and so does Robin Shrestha, wholesale manager at Avenue Bread.
taking our sandwiches to an even higher level of deliciousness
“My favorite part of working at Avenue Bread is being part of the Bellingham community and providing fresh bread every day to everybody in the community. I love the fact that we sell our bread to grocery stores, restaurants, the university, and the hospital, and at the end of the day we also provide bread to the food bank, the Lighthouse Mission, and other local charities.
“I was introduced to Avenue Bread when I got some of their bread through the Bellingham Food Bank for few months during a rough time in my life, and I am very appreciative of the owners, Wendy and John, for everything they do for the community.
“We are also very proud of launching our new line of Avenue Craft bread, so we can promote local farmers and local businesses. Avenue Craft is made entirely with flour from Cairnspring Mills, which is buying and milling local grain, and Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill, both located in Burlington,” said Robin.
The bakery also sources ingredients from Skagit Valley Malting, and Barbie’s Berries and Dairy Distributing, both in Bellingham.
As for sustainability, nothing goes to waste.
Avenue donates all day-old loaves from grocery stores to local charities, they compost and recycle pretty much everything (including plastic wraps), and all of their packaging is recyclable.
Our new partnership with Avenue Bread Bakery just goes to show that everything is better (and in this case, tastier) when we work with our friends!
Meet the Sandwiches
Vegan Chickpea Salad
Coarsely chopped garbanzo bean salad that includes celery, carrots, and just the right touch of spice to add a slight bite. It is topped off with tomatoes and crisp lettuce, all atop Avenue’s 8-inch sub.
The Co-op Cubano
Beeler’s Pure Pork Sliced Ham, housemade pulled pork, dill pickles, and yellow mustard all topped with Swiss cheese. Grab one of these tasty sandwiches to grill at home (if you can wait that long to eat it)!
Vegetarian Banh Mi
Sweet chili tofu, tomatoes, lettuce, and housemade Banh Mi vegetables that have been marinated for at least 24 hours in a rice vinegar mixture are complemented by in-house sriracha vegenaise and cilantro chutney.
Pastrami Ruben
This sandwich comes stacked with Double L Ranch Meats Beef Pastrami, Bubbies Sauerkraut, our housemade Reuben dressing, and sliced Swiss cheese. Built on Avenue’s Deli Rye made with Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill’s organic rye flour.
Breakfast Sandwiches
Last but not least, we also switched to using Avenue’s English muffins on all of our breakfast sandwiches, which you can find on the hot bar every morning or anytime in the Co-op bakery café grab-and-go where your barista will gladly heat it up for you on the panini press.
