MAY/JUNE - 2012

Soup’s On
Sandwiches and soups just like mom used to make

By Kerry Pipes

'Cute’ is one of the first words that comes to mind when you walk into MaryLou’s Sandwich Shoppe on the far end of Main Street in Historic Downtown Mansfield. The quaint little shop is the brainchild of lifelong Mansfield resident, Melisa Perez.

The cute feel comes from interior walls that are painted two-tone powder blue and chocolate brown. Clay tile floors hold a handful of small tables, each adorned with tablecloths and old-fashioned soda bottles brimming with colorful artificial flowers. The place is small but the hospitality is large.

“I grew up here in Mansfield, went to school here and never really left,” says Melisa. “I love the friendliness and small-town atmosphere so there was no reason to go anywhere else.”

Perez and her husband Daryle also operate the Mansfield Funeral Home. But it was when their funeral home business was located in South Arlington a few years back that Perez first got the idea for her sandwich shop. “There was a place over there called Uncle Boo Boo’s and they had a great niche that seemed to work and I thought we needed something like that back in Mansfield,” she says.
Meanwhile, Melisa and Daryle were actively involved in Historic Downtown Mansfield and she serves on the board of the Mansfield Historical Society. The old brick shops in downtown Mansfield offered a perfect setting for Melisa to set up shop.

“We knew we wanted to keep it simple and do it well,” she says. The shop’s name comes from her mother, Mary Louise. In fact, there’s three generations involved in this family restaurant. Matriarch ‘MaryLou’, Melisa and her three adult children, Calee (22), Taylor (19), and Robbie (18).
They opened the doors on their sandwich shop back in mid-October. Early buzz was generated via a Facebook page and word-of-mouth through all of Melisa’s lifelong friends and acquaintances in Mansfield. “That’s one of the advantages to growing up here,” she says. “We want this place to feel like an old-fashioned hometown sandwich shop where everybody comes to eat and visit.”

COME ON IN
As you step in through the front door of MaryLou’s Sandwich Shoppe you’ll notice a small adjacent room off to your left. This room is available for private meetings and get-togethers. Back in the main dining area it’s very cozy and comfortable. Walk up to the counter and place your order. You’ll notice homey touches such as the regular kitchen refrigerator and toaster oven. A handful of tables and chairs in the small but open space are likely to be occupied by local teachers, community leaders and even moms and children.

The menu features most of the sandwich staples from turkey, ham and roast beef, to chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad. Each day of the week offers a soup of the day and there are homemade goodies for dessert. Six dollars will get you a choice of soup and half a sandwich. The recipes are all proprietary and come from the kitchen of Mary Louise.

Melisa served up a great sandwich sampler on our visit. We sampled tiny squares of chicken salad with avocado, egg salad, tuna salad, pimento cheese, turkey, ham and roast beef all atop fresh whole grain breads. Each of the deli meats are sliced fresh on site and all of the vegetables used here are hand selected by Melisa. We also tried a bowl of lightly flavored chicken and dumpling soup served up hot and a slice of homemade apple cinnamon cake for dessert. Freshly-brewed iced tea with a slice of lemon washed it all down.

All sandwiches and soups at MaryLou’s Sandwich Shoppe are under $5.

MaryLou’s Sandwich Shoppe is at 137 N. Main St. in downtown Mansfield. It’s open Monday through Friday for lunch from 10:30am to 2:30pm (though many customers are clamoring for expanded days and hours). Call 817-561-2675 for more information.