Which Wich sandwich stores coming to Grosse Pointe, Southfield

A pair of longtime Grosse Pointe friends are channeling love of the city - and their desire to be business owners - into a new sandwich store in Grosse Pointe's Village business district.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, a franchise started in Dallas by a Michigan native, is moving into a 1,650-square-foot space at 17045 Kercheval  Avenue. Sweet Little Sheila's bakery and creperie previously occupied the spot. It relocated into a smaller store down the street.
 
Grosse Pointe Park natives Michael Berschback and Nabil Shurafa plan to open two Which Wiches, one in Grosse Pointe and the other in Southfield. They have been friends since first grade and love the place where they grew up. The Village was their stomping grounds, their destination when they wanted to add to their baseball card collections.  So it was especially exciting when an executive from Which Wich visited the Village and "fell in love with the territory," Berschback says.

Renovations on the Grosse Pointe store are starting this week and opening day is expected in mid- to late March, Berschback says. There will be space for 43 seats. Which Wich in Southfield will open by summer possibly as part of the second phase of City Center, which is under construction.

Berschback and Shurafa decided to become business partners when Shurafa was talking over the holidays about leaving his job with a hedge fund and moving back to metro Detroit from Princeton, New Jersey.

"He was thinking about Dunkin' Donuts," says Berschback. "About a week after he and I talked I went to a Which Wich in Petoskey and was blown away. The ordering was so unique, the quality of the food so good. I called him right then, from the parking lot and said, 'This is what we need to do.' "

In Grosse Pointe, where the Village is chock full of coffee shops and bagel stores and a busy Panera bakery, Berschback sees a ready market for a new and different kind of sandwich shop with its fun vibe, promotion of the color yellow and great food.

Which Wich's concept is based on the fun and the different. It uses an ordering system where customers are given a paper bag and red Sharpie to order a sandwich -- either a recommendation to build upon or a create-your-own. The sandwich is served in the same bag, which can be also be drawn on and displayed on the community wall, or used during special promotions for something like letters and pictures for the military.

Which Wich "also makes a fantastic milkshake," he says, a good offering for the locals who still lament the closing of a Burger & Shake restaurant in the same spot.

The two expect Southfield and metro Detroiters to welcome Which Wich as have other cities have. Which Wich's first store opened in Dallas in 2003. The chain has grown to 250 stores in 37 states. The Grosse Pointe store will be the first in metro Detroit and the second in Michigan. Southfield will make it three.

"He sees a lot of prospects in Michigan," Berschback says of his partner, Surafa. "He could start a business anywhere, but he wanted to bring it back to Michigan."

Source: Michael Berschback, co-owner, Grosse Pointe Which Wich
Writer: Kim North Shine