To the delight of University students and officials, Ike’s Place owner Ike Shehadeh confirmed his plans to sign the lease for a new location in the Cesar Chavez Student Center within the next two months.
“I’d like to be in around March 1, but how realistic that is, I’m not so sure,” Shehadeh said. “It is my intent to be there real soon.”
The popular sandwich shop was recently approved by the Student Center Governing Board to open in the lower level of the student center.
According to Edina Bajraktarevic, Associate Director of Business and Finance for the student center, the lease will ideally be signed within a couple of weeks and Ike’s Place will move in shortly afterward.
“We are definitely hoping that Ike’s will open with us,” Bajraktarevic said. “It came up as the best candidate for the space.”
Shehadeh said he hasn’t opened a location on campus yet because he is working on moving to another San Francisco location on 16th and Sanchez Streets.
The move should take place in the next couple of weeks and the store will be located across the street from the old Ike’s Place that closed last September.
After that location opens, Shehadeh said he would focus on opening the Cesar Chavez shop.
“Our concentration is on one store at a time,” he said.
Shehadeh said he would like to open the location on 16th sometime before Valentine’s Day and then get working on opening the SF State shop. However, he said the dates all depend on when he is able to obtain the building permits.
He said once the shop opens on campus, it would operate slightly differently than the other San Francisco locations.
For instance, there will be a fast-track line for people who call in their orders ahead of time or those who want to buy premade sandwiches. There will be another line for those who want to order fresh sandwiches on site.
According to Shehadeh, the on campus menu may also include some new possibilities for students.
“Of course we’re going to be selling sandwiches,” Shehadeh said. “But we want to do soups, perhaps some coffee too.”
With or without an updated menu, the prospect of an Ike’s in the student center is enough to start some students’ mouths watering.
“I’m ecstatic that Ike’s Place may be coming to the Cesar Chavez Center,” said Ryan Dack, a 20-year-old political science major.
Dack said he was disappointed when Ike’s Place had to close down its original Castro location, but thinks opening a shop at the University will be a good move.
“When it was in the Castro I probably only went once every two months,” Dack said. “It will likely become once every couple days if this move takes place.”
