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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 At the western end of Yester Downtown Disney |
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Hmmm… what happened to Compass Books, which used to be around here? It wasn’t just a bookstore. It was also a place to have breakfast. Well, the same location is still a place to have breakfast—and also lunch and dinner. It’s called Earl of Sandwich. The slogan of Earl of Sandwich is “Since 1762.” That’s even more impressive than Compass Books’ claim of “Since 1851”—until you realize that 1762 just refers to the year that the sandwich was invented. The first Earl of Sandwich restaurant anywhere opened in 2004. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 John Montagu, the face of the restaurant |
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According to the Earl of Sandwich website: In 1762, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich®, invented the meal that changed dining forever. As the story goes, he was playing cards and did not want to leave the gaming table to eat. He asked for a serving of roast beef to be placed between two slices of bread so he could eat with his hands. Thus, the Sandwich was born. Who could be better to continue the tradition of the sandwich than the descendants of its inventor? In 2004, Lord John Montagu, the 11th Earl of Sandwich® and his son, the Honorable Orlando Montagu, direct descendants of the inventor of the sandwich, partnered with Robert Earl, founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood®, to launch the Earl of Sandwich® restaurants. Great bragging rights for a sandwich shop! Others will point out that people had been putting meat between pieces of bread or stuffing it into pita for centuries (or even millennia) before the 4th Earl of Sandwich “invented the sandwich.” In any case, he deserves credit for giving it a name in the English-speaking world. It’s time to get a sandwich. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Architectural features from Compass Books, but with a different color scheme |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Entrance |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Menu board |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Pick a sandwich |
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In homage to John Montagu, perhaps you’ll want to order The Original 1762, a hot sandwich with roasted beef, cheddar, and horseradish sauce. Or maybe try The Full Montagu, with roasted beef, turkey, Swiss, cheddar, lettuce, Roma tomato, and mustard sauce. Want something more modern? Then how about the Chipotle Chicken Avocado, featuring grilled chicken, bacon, cheddar, avocado, lettuce, and chipotle sauce. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 “Order Here” |
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It’s time to place your order. The wall is lined with books. Is this homage to Compass Books? |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Interior |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Outdoor dining |
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Enjoy your sandwich on the patio. Savor your sandwich and watch people running from the hotels to the parks—as horseradish sauce, mustard sauce, or chipotle sauce drips onto your hands. |
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The official grand opening of Earl of Sandwich at the Disneyland Resort was November 2, 2012, using the space where Compass Books had closed permanently March 31, 2012. An earlier attempt to establish an Earl of Sandwich in California failed—opening in Valencia in late 2006 and closing after less than two years. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Earl of Sandwich at Walt Disney World |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Inside Earl of Sandwich at Walt Disney World |
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In 2012, the sandwich chain’s only California location was at the Disneyland Resort —but that was its third Disney location. The first Earl of Sandwich anywhere in the world opened at Walt Disney World in 2004 at what was then Downtown Disney Marketplace and is now Disney Springs. The second Disney location opened at Disneyland Paris’ Disney Village in 2011. Both are still open. The final day of operation for Earl of Sandwich at the Disneyland Resort was June 26, 2018—or so it seemed at the time. The restaurant had been well-liked and popular. At the time of its closing, TripAdvisor ranked it at an impressive number 9 of 753 restaurants in Anaheim. Fans of the Earl’s hot and cold sandwiches could still get them at 30 remaining locations in the United States (including four in California) and the one in France. |
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From the collection of Don Ballard, circa 1970 Olympic-size swimming pool at the Disneyland Hotel |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Looking from Earl of Sandwich to the Disneyland Hotel |
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What do the two photos above have in common? They were taken from roughly the same spot, around 45 years apart. The site of Earl of Sandwich was once part of the Disneyland Hotel. It was demolished in 1999 to become the western end of Downtown Disney. And now this part of Downtown Disney had closed—to once again be the site of a hotel. It would be a 700-room luxury hotel. At least that was the plan. |
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© Disney / Artist Concept Only Rendering of a new hotel, announced for 2021, between Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel |
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But there was no demolition crew during the summer of 2018. By mid-August, plans for the hotel were on hold due to a feud between The Walt Disney Company and officials of Anaheim over tax breaks and obligations under earlier agreements. The “hold” allowed a small miracle. Earl of Sandwich quietly reopened Monday, October 1, 2018. The following week, on October 10, 2018, Disney officials announced, “We’ve taken the time to review the economics of our proposed Four Diamond hotel for Anaheim and have made the final decision to cancel the project.” The hotel was dead, at least for the time being. |
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Photo by Wener Weiss, 2018 Reopened Earl of Sandwich in October 2018 |
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Photo by Wener Weiss, 2018 Food trucks near Earl of Sandwich |
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The neighbors of Earl of Sandwich remained closed. When a business has had its interior ripped out, it’s much harder to reopen. Tables under the canopy of the AMC Theaters and parked food trucks nearby bring some life to the area, but it was hard to hide so many shuttered tenants of Downtown Disney. |
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Artist Concept Only © Disney Rendering of an update to the Downtown Disney District with a mid-century look |
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On November 20, 2021, Disney Parks’ Twitter account announced, “The next evolution of Downtown Disney District is being planned with work starting in January 2022. The multi-year project to reimagine Downtown Disney District will include an even broader collection of shopping, dining & entertainment experiences.” That meant Earl of Sandwich would close on January 22, 2022. It’s likely Earl of Sandwich will return somewhere else in Downtown Disney District. Until then, your craving for The Original 1762 will have to wait. Or you can visit another Earl of Sandwich location. After all, it’s a chain. |
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© 2018-2022 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated January 14, 2022 |
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