Pascale Gourmet

Airlines give out free miles, credit cards give reward points, and retail stores reward loyal customers with discounts. It seems like almost every business has their own way of sweetening the pot, but what many of them lack is the personal touch. Customers need to know they matter to a business and that they’re not just another number. This was the thought process that drove Mary and Nicola (Nick) Pascale, the husband-and-wife owners of Pascale Gourmet, to do things a little differently.

“We have a sandwich board on which we name our sandwiches after certain clients,” says Mary. So far, the personalized sandwiches include the Derek sandwich, the Marco sandwich and the Andrew sandwich, each one made according to their namesake’s personality and ordering history. They have also created sandwiches named after themselves. The Nick sandwich contains handmade nut-free pesto, prosciutto, bocconcini cheese, bruschetta and tomato drizzled with olive oil. Mary’s sandwich has a cozier flavour to it: cooked Italian prosciutto on multigrain bread, mayonnaise, garden-grown tomatoes and French Brie, all grilled to ooey-gooey goodness.