For those looking for a delicious sandwich shop in a relaxed atmosphere one may not need to look any further than the Beach Hut Deli in Brentwood.
Owned and family operated since July 2009, Josh and Ashley Hodapp opened the deli after wanting more out of life than what their jobs at the time offered them. Josh was doing cost estimating and Ashley was in human resources.
“We were coming back from vacation and neither of us wanted to go back to our jobs,” explained Josh Hodapp. “I am from Sacramento which is where Beach Hut Deli started so I said we should open one and one thing led to another.”
According to Josh, Ashley tried it one day and immediately fell in love with the sandwich shop so it turned out to be a perfect fit.
In total, it took 8-months to open from start-to-finish with applications and permits. He explained that the City of Brentwood was fantastic to them and did a great job in working with them. He admitted the City has been great to them in helping them.
“City of Brentwood has been great and really easy to work with. They were very open to us being there and went above and beyond for us,” explained Hodapp.
In fact, with a 5-year-old and 18-month-old daughters, Josh and Ashley love living in East Contra Costa County while living in Oakley for the past four-years and being part of the community.
The Hodapps live here and care about this area explaining how it’s important to see how Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley are progressing. They also try to give back to the community explaining the importance of fundraisers.
“We hold fundraisers where 20% of the proceeds for a time period are donated,” said Hodapp. “We will work with schools, churches, and in the past donated gift cards to various crab feeds, fundraisers, golf tournaments, and other various charities. It’s really important for us to give back and we want the support of our community anyway we can. “
The menu is large and offers a variety of sandwiches. They are made fresh and done for that day with nothing from the night before or pre-portioned. The bread is also fresh and proprietary to them.
In fact, Hodapp admitted that for someone who has never been to the sandwich shop before, the menu can be intimidating but explains they offer a high level of customer service which makes the selection process easier. They love the interaction with customers.
It was customer service that created the Beach Hut Deli who now has 31-locations. It was created by a 19-year-old at the time named Troy Feist who was looking to buy a franchise from another company who didn’t want to deal with a 19-year-old owner and preferred someone older in their chain—that is when he created his own shop and opened in 1981 in Granite Bay near Folsom.
The goal was to create sandwiches that are nothing like you ever experienced but also to ensure customers have a great experience in the process with a home-away-from-home environment to just relax and eat.
The most popular sandwich according to Josh is the Surfin’ Bird (pictured above) which is a turkey, avocado, bacon and cream cheese. Josh admits his favorite is the – The Woody which is a hot roast beef, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, Tabasco®, Bulls-Eye® BBQ sauce, bacon, mayo, onions and lettuce.
Meanwhile, Ashley’s favorite is one you will not find on the menu. It’s called The Sunburn which is listed on a sign at the deli and you are encouraged to go in and try it.
The shop also offers several types of beers both on tap and bottles while they have a patio area to enjoy eating outdoors while multiple televisions are set to local sports channels so one does not miss a game.
The important thing for Hodapp is ensuring their customers have a great sandwich and receive a good experience at their shop.
“We really appreciate people giving us a shot,” says Hodapp. “We love our regulars and have come friends with them. It’s a great way to get to know people in the community.”
The Beach Hut Deli is located at 2540 Sand Creek Rd. Site A-5 in Brentwood across from the Streets of Brentwood. You can also follow them on Facebook.
3 comments
Sounds good! Too bad you did not open in Oakley!
We have one here in South Lake Tahoe!! Wonderful!!
I agree- you should open one in Oakley. We need a good sandwich place. I had seen the signs for Beach Hut but didn’t know it was a deli. Next time I am in that part of town I think I will get me a sandwich there looks good!
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