A newly opened sandwich shop in Wirral is drawing queues out the door, with one customer calling its creations the best they've ever had. Orlo, on Allport Lane in Bromborough, has been open only a matter of weeks but has quickly gained popularity.
From server to shop owner
Sean Bebbington, owner of Orlo, was 24 when he first entered the hospitality industry, selling burgers after returning to school to study IT. The 31-year-old from Moreton previously worked across the road from his current shop at Mexican restaurant Pina Loca, where he moved from a server role into a chef position.
It was Pina Loca's owner, Babul Miah, who suggested Sean open his own sandwich shop after trying one of his creations. Speaking to the ECHO, Sean said: "The conversation kind of happened [when] Babul texted me one day, saying, 'I think we should do a sarnie shop' then we were talking about it, [it was] a collective of conversations just gradually got us to the point."
Customers travel miles for sandwiches
Now customers have been travelling miles to get their hands on Sean's creations. The shop's name comes from the French word for corner shop, and it offers generously filled deli classics inspired by a range of cuisines, alongside speciality coffee, ceremonial-grade matcha, unusual drinks, cakes and an alternative selection of crisps.
Speaking about the response from its first few weeks, Sean said: "The feedback has been amazing, people who have tried them have said they're amazing I've had someone say it's the best sandwich they've ever had. It's stressful, but in a good way. I suppose, from my years of cooking, we've become accustomed to it, to be honest, and we kind of revel in it."
Popular menu items and future plans
He added: "I just love to feed people it's all I want to do. To finally get to a point from that little kind of seed of just, I'd love to sell my own food', to now, 'I am selling my own food'."
The most popular sandwich has been between the Reuben, a pastrami sandwich, and the chicken and bacon ranch, which sell for £9.95. Sean said: "We do of have a bit of something for everyone. We've got Vietnamese, Cuban-American, Italian-American. I've got two Mexican ones on there so we've got a chicken torta and a mushroom torta, which is vegan."
Sean admitted it is a lot of pressure to succeed, adding: "[I was questioning] 'can I do this? Am I capable?' in my mind, I was like, 'yes, let's do this, and I am ready. I'm panicking, but I'm ready'. The response has been unbelievable I have to stop myself from being emotional all the time. It's not a 'what if' anymore."
Orlo is based at 21A Allport Lane, Bromborough, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm.
