A Sandwich Chain Is Bringing Pork Belly Banh Mi and Spicy Spreads to Austin

Fast-casual California sandwich chain Mendocino Farms is opening its first Austin restaurant this year. It’ll be found at 1109 East Fifth Street within the Saltillo development in East Austin opening sometime in the fall.

The chain is known for sandwiches, obviously. These include the Not So Fried Chicken, made with roasted chicken breast rolled in fried buttermilk batter; pork belly banh mi; the spicy A Sandwich Study of Heat made with turkey, chili aioli, and jalapeño relish; and a tuna melt. Then there are salads and soups. Also, there are vegan options (Impossible meats and tempeh) as well as gluten-free items.

Mendocino co-founders Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen are planning to open additional restaurants in Austin too. The chain’s been expanding in Houston heavily recently, opening three locations with two more to come.

Del Pero and Chen opened the restaurant in 2005 in California and now includes 32 locations in California and Houston.

Other restaurants in Saltillo include Dolce Neve. Nearby sandwich shops include Italian cafe La Matta and food truck Lucky’s Italian Sandwiches, which is parked at East Sixth bar The Lucky Duck.

• Mendocino Farms [Official]
• Mendocino Farms Austin [Official]
• Mendocino Farms [Facebook]