Fratello’s “The Bourdain” with mortadella.
Young Kwak
Stepping into the upscale Italian restaurant Sorella, guests are comforted by its refined, plush details and atmosphere, from decorative melted candles and an expansive gallery wall to swathes of rich blue-green textiles. At Fratello’s Salumeria just down the street, on the other hand, things may feel more like a high-stakes competition.
Also owned by Spokane restaurateur Lauren Blumenthal, the specialty Italian sandwich shop opened on Oct. 13. Since then, people have flocked to 300-square-foot space, prompting daily lines extending down the block regardless of the weather.
“I wanted Sorella to be like the elegant older sister, and I wanted Fratello to be like the shithead little brother that just had a little bit more attitude and was a little rough around the edges,” Blumenthal says.
While she’d been stewing on the idea of opening an Italian sandwich shop since even before launching Sorella in 2023, Blumenthal bided her time until all the pieces fell into place.
“I love Italian sandwiches so much,” she says. “When I was doing research for Sorella, I went to New York three times, and I went to Italy twice, and it was just kind of one of those things where I was like, ‘We don’t have this here.’”
One of the most important elements was finding the right chef to pull off her vision. Chef CJ Callahan was happy to take the reins as her business partner. Callahan, 43, has worked in the food industry virtually all of his life; his most recent local stints include Hogwash Whiskey Den and Inland Pacific Kitchen.
“We developed a good relationship over the last year and a half,” Callahan says. “[Lauren] and my wife became really good friends when Sorella opened, and that just kind of blossomed our business relationship over time.”
On her trips to New York and Italy, Blumenthal says she ate probably close to 30 different sandwiches for inspiration.
“I gave the most dumbed-down version of all these things, and then with [Callahan’s] expertise and knowledge and everything, together we were able to make some really f–king good sandwiches,” Blumenthal says of the eight sandwiches featured on the menu.
Despite the hefty price tag — each sandwich costs $18 to $22 depending on the fluctuating costs of ingredients — it’s hard to finish an entire one in one sitting.
“I served a large order the other day, it was five sandwiches, and I weighed it and it was six and a half pounds,” Callahan says. “So every sandwich is like a meal and then a later meal.”
No matter which way you flip a sandwich, the bread comes first, and Fratello’s prides itself on its made-fresh-daily schiacciata flatbread and sesame rolls. Baker Mike Krause makes the bread for both restaurants, working from midnight to 7 am most days.
“He makes some of the best bread in this town, hands down,” Callahan says.
Owner Lauren Blumenthal and Chef CJ Callahan.
Young Kwak
Picking up a paper menu at the shop’s small checkout stand, it might be a bit overwhelming for first-timers to not only decipher the elegant scrawl of Blumenthal’s own handwriting but also to decipher the names of different Italian cheeses and meats.
The two sandwiches with a more American twist are the Gandolfini and the Paulie Walnuts, which feature housemade meatballs and a chicken cutlet with a vodka sauce, respectively.
“You’re not going to see that in Italy. You’re also not going to see a meatball sandwich in Italy either,” Blumenthal says. “So I think those two things are definitely more Americanized.”
However, she’s reluctant to claim that Fratello’s is traditional or authentically Italian.
“I don’t attach that word to any of my food because I’m by zero means Italian, and I just really like Italian food,” Blumenthal says.
If you’re planning on grabbing a sandwich on your lunch break, it’s recommended to get there early — like as soon as Fratello’s opens at 11 am.
“It’s been hard for us to stay open longer than three hours a day because there’s such a high demand for it,” Callahan says. “And we already have repeat customers and regulars and neighborhood people.”
The goal is to sell around 500 sandwiches a day, which they’ve been close to consistently meeting. And when Fratello’s does sell out, which inevitably happens, the first to go are often the chicken cutlet-based sandwiches like the Sinatra, which also includes prosciutto, pesto, stracciatella and arugula.
Callahan loves all the choices, but the Bourdain is his fave.
“It’s so delicious, and mortadella is like the OG bologna,” he says. “And I am from Arkansas; I grew up eating bologna sandwiches everyday, and it’s just an elevated version of this nice ass bologna sandwich.”
The menu’s sleeper, according to Blumenthal, is the Belushi with marinated portobello mushrooms, fontina, arugula, balsamic aioli and truffle oil. The secret ingredient is a mushroom pate that Callahan developed using leftover ingredients.
“You don’t even have to like mushrooms to enjoy that sandwich,” Blumenthal says.
All of the cured meats are imported from Italy, which so far has posed a challenge as the shop’s importer only does two deliveries per week from Seattle, which hasn’t been enough to keep up with such steep demand. The hardest-to-source meat is the porchetta, a roasted pork, which goes into the Don Corleone sandwich.
Fratello’s tucked-away space has housed various businesses over the years, most recently Tamale Box’s prep kitchen. Once Tamale Box opened its second Liberty Lake location, Blumenthal swooped in to open up the sandwich shop.
“I had already talked with the landlord and everything about us taking over that space,” she says. “So it was really like as soon as they were done, we were set to go in there.”
Once she got the keys, it took around six weeks to open.
Despite the limited space, Blumenthal made the most of it. On a wine red-colored wall above five bar seats (the only indoor seating) is a gallery filled with images like classic mob movie scenes, a note stating “cut meat not corners,” appetite-whetting pictures of ingredients and the shop’s first dollar bill. She even made use of the ceiling space by hanging decorative dried peppers, an old-school scale and loaves of bread. And while you’d be lucky to snag an indoor seat, there are 20 outdoor patio seats for those who are willing to brave the cold.
Though there’s no set timeframe, Blumenthal says the shop will eventually offer online ordering, along with a system to notify customers via text when their order is ready. For now, they’ll continue using a traditional restaurant buzzer system.
Fratello’s limited and exclusive feel might ruffle some feathers, but that’s a risk Blumenthal is willing to take.
“It’s not like I’m trying to work against people,” she says. “I’m just trying to expand their mind into thinking there are other ways to do things and sometimes it’s OK to wait.”
“And you’ve put thousands of hours of thought into a concept, and people should be able to appreciate and respect that,” Callahan adds. “That’s why we’re pretty hard on no substitutions.”
For your next lunch, gear up in some cozy clothing and get in line — it’ll be worth the wait.
Fratello’s Salumeria • 1198 W. Summit Pkwy. • Open Tue-Fri 11 am-2 pm • Instagram: @fratellossalumeria
Dining and Cooking