Sandwich shop chain Erbert and Gerbert’s recently opened its second location in Whitewater. The shops, which are open to the public, can be found in the Esker Dining Hall and Drumlin Hall.
By Ryan Spoehr
SLN STAFF
Sub sandwich chain Erbert and Gerbert’s has taken an aggressive approach to marketing to college students, particularly in Whitewater, as it has opened its second location on the city’s university campus.
Erbert and Gerbert’s opened the location in September on University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on the opposite side of campus as the first location.
Food Services Director Bob Barry said he wanted to make sure students had options on campus as opposed to other sandwich shop locations in the community, including two Subway locations, a Jersey Mike’s and some local pizzerias that offer subs.
“We want to have a nice balance of opportunities to eat,” said Bob Barry, the school’s food director, adding that there is no interest in competing with other sandwich shops in the community.
The decision to go with another Erbert and Gerbert’s came as the Food Services Department was working on, and evaluating its food contract.
“We had students say, ‘Why can’t we have an Erbert and Gerbert’s on our side of campus?’ so we listened,” Barry said.
“I know the food director was looking for a Wisconsin-based company to go with,” Eric Wolfe of Erbert and Gerbert’s said. “He wanted to go with a healthy variety.”
The company has a location on the campus of UW-Eau Claire and one nearby it, and multiple locations on universities in Minnesota and South Dakota.
“We’ve done so well he wanted to go with another one,” Wolfe said.
It boasts its products, including fresh production in-house.
“We have homemade soups, our own recipes and our own brand of chips,” Wolfe said. “We bake our own bread and slice meat and cheeses.”
The two locations are in the Esker Dining Hall and the Drumlin Hall. They are open to the public.
The new sandwich shop replaced a similar operation that was an in-house operation.
