From Family Kitchens to Fan Favorites, Grandmothers Shape These Local Sandwich Spots

From Family Kitchens to Fan Favorites, Grandmothers Shape These Local Sandwich Spots

Two Massachusetts chefs honor their grandmothers through food rooted in memory, comfort, and tradition

Some of the most meaningful recipes aren’t written down. They’re passed on.

At Josephine in Somerville, that inheritance begins with a grandmother. The Italian restaurant is named for owner and executive chef Michael Scelfo’s grandma Josephine, whose influence shapes everything from the family photos lining the walls to the generous, shareable plates leaving the kitchen. “She was the matriarch of their family and the soul inspiration for the whole design of the restaurant,” general manager Brittni Maniscalco told us.

The menu leans into comfort, with oversized, family-style sandwiches leading the way. The Italian Hero Mortazza, made with homemade pizza dough and baked in a wood-fired oven, has become a standout, stuffed with Italian meats and finished with a provolone spread and cherry pepper vinaigrette.

That same grandmother-driven spirit carries west to Springfield, where Chef Sonya Yelder’s Souper Sweet Sandwich Shop is rooted in summers spent cooking with her grandmother in Georgia. Yelder roasts her own meats, presses every sandwich fresh, and skips deli meats altogether. “Nobody does the basics anymore,” she said. “I wanted to start where my grandparents started.”