| 1 | 1 | | Would you have the nerve to walk into a petrol station and ask if they'd like to buy |
| 2 | | sandwiches from you to sell to their customers? The first time Simon Morris did it, he |
| 3 | | found himself driving miles round the area working up his courage. Then he got a curt |
| 4 | | 'no'. Should he give up his hopes of getting off the dole1) by setting up a sandwich-making |
| 5 | | service? A strong cup of coffee later, he set off for another petrol station. And another. |
| 6 | | Until one garage manager looked at the sample sandwiches Simon showed him, and said |
| 7 | | 'We'll give it a try'. Six months later, Simon gets up at 3 a.m. to make lots and lots of |
| 8 | | sandwiches for various garages. |
| 2 | 9 | | The idea of making sandwiches wasn't original. His sister does it for British Rail. |
| 10 | | Office workers in Bristol, he knew, were often visited by sandwich-mongers bearing |
| 11 | | attractive basketfuls. But him? In a little town like Trowbridge, where there are no big |
| 12 | | blocks of offices? |
| 3 | 13 | | Simon's determination was, he admits, strengthened by a personal motive. Hi s |
| 14 | | girlfriend, while still close, was noticeably drifting away from him since he had been fired |
| 15 | | from his engineering job. And she too works as a sandwich maker. Could romance |
| 16 | | blossom again over the breadknife? |
| 4 | 17 | | You might think it's as easy as pie to set up as a sandwich maker. But there's a lot |
| 18 | | more to it than you'd think. First you need to get a place that meets with the approval of |
| 19 | | the local health officer: you can't make sandwiches to sell in your home without planning |
| 20 | | permission. Simon had a helping hand, because his mother runs the local grocery. He |
| 21 | | rented a small corner and fitted it out with washable surfaces, sink etc. for the health |
| 22 | | officer's visit. Then he had to organize wholesale supplies. To have his sandwiches on |
| 23 | | sale as garages open, Simon needs fresh loaves on his doorstep by 3 a.m. He had to get a |
| 24 | | van to deliver in, but if he went too far afield, it would drink his profit in petrol. He had to |
| 25 | | work out his area. He needed wrappings that would both protect the sandwiches and |
| 26 | | make them look good: he uses distinctive light green cardboard holders, from a |
| 27 | | cash-and-carry, with windows for the cut sides. And all that before he could sell one |
| 28 | | sandwich. |
| 5 | 29 | | Simon had seen the kind of sandwiches on sale in Bath and Bristol but his samples |
| 30 | | of prawn, salmon and other luxury sandwiches met with icy indifference in Trowbridge. |
| 31 | | Give us cheese, egg, ham or just plain salad sandwiches was the message. No fancy |
| 32 | | fillings, and no fancy prices either. But Simon is hanging on to the quality image. He's |
| 33 | | become a compulsive checker on other people's sandwiches. Tm always looking at how |
| 34 | | fresh their bread is. I use real cheese and real ham - it's very difficult to find ham without |
| 35 | | added water.' He thinks that Marks and Spencer sandwiches - high price, high quality |
| 36 | | and usually sold out - have a lesson for him. |
| 6 | 37 | | H's lucky that Simon likes sandwiches himself: garages expect sale-or-return terms. |
| 38 | | Simon likes that too, because he thinks it's important that customers get the idea that his |
| 39 | | sandwiches are always fresh. 'I don't want them to stay on sale unless they are.' |
| 40 | | Nowadays, few come back, so his meals are more varied. |
| | | |
| | | from an article by Miriam Polunin in Sh, September 1986 |
