Not even a month after a ‘soft opening’ on the east side of Oakdale, new business Sourdough & Co. has had no problem roping the crowds of people in.
Husband and wife owners and Manteca natives David Niemoeller and Kara Davis recently opened the sandwich shop, culminating a lengthy process. David first got introduced to the company when he was a truck driver and would deliver products to multiple store locations. After years of that, he began to think something with fewer physical demands would be more suited for him. He got introduced to the Sourdough & Co. franchise owners and other people who worked for the company and said he really enjoyed the people. One night his wife Kara brought up the idea about possibly opening their own store in connection with the company, and instantly David knew what he wanted to do.
“Shortly after that conversation with my wife, a friend of mine who I saw the next day during my deliveries told me I should open my own store one day,” David explained. “I replied to him ‘I will’.”
Next thing they knew, plans to open a store in Oakdale got started and eventually their ideas became a reality.
Even though the couple lives out of town, David explained how he used to drive through Oakdale all the time when he would go visit his parents in Don Pedro and really liked the community. Opening this location was a bit daring for the couple, since it was something they hadn’t done before, but they were eager to begin the journey.
Since the soft opening the store has been nonstop busy, the most popular sandwich orders so far being the French dip and the smoked brisket. Also being served up on the daily are all types of hot and cold sandwiches, hot soup with an option to have it inside a warm bread bowl, mac n’ cheese and different types of salads topped with fresh sourdough croutons made with the ends of the loaves of bread used for their sandwiches.
The shop is at 1570 E. F St., Suite C, and is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Currently, orders must be placed in person inside the store. There will be online and phone in options added at a later date.
The crew features many high school students along with members of David and Kara’s family. Fun fact, everyone with their name sewed on their T-shirt is family.
One person on the crew who is not blood-related but to David is one of his top guys, is opener and trainer Ray Thacker Perez. He has worked at other store locations but made his way to the Oakdale one to help with the opening of the shop. Perez not only is one of the very few who is trained to operate all the back house equipment but is also knowledgeable enough to train new crew members.
“I am so proud of Ray, he works so hard and is just an outstanding employee,” David expressed.
The next goal for David and Kara is to add more staff to keep the flow of the store smooth and keep the food orders served up in a timely manner.
“It is super busy, and the wait can be long sometimes, but we just ask that people bear with us as all the new crew members are coming in with no prior knowledge,” David stated.
The business is new, but the name is not, Sourdough & Co. has over 31 locations in California. For their part, David and Kara said they are proud to bring one to Oakdale and cannot wait to see the business grow.
More information as well as the online menu can be found on their Facebook page, Sourdough & Co. Oakdale or online at sourdoughandco.com and choosing the Oakdale location.
