A $38 sandwich is taking over the US Open…
Walk onto the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and you’ll ultimately discover your manner toward the food court space, where on most days during this 12 months’s U.S. Open you’ll be met by a long line of followers ready to get their fingers on a $38 sandwich that has been the speak of the match.
So what has compelled U.S. Open goers to wait on line — for some, that has been a 15-20-minute investment of their day at the match — to get their fingers on the prime rib sandwich, topped with onions, aioli and provolone? That relies upon on who you ask.
For 64-year-old Brooklynite Rob Carlson, the resolution to hop on the line has been due to the buzz he’s heard from other people.
Lines type for a Salt Hank’s sandwich outdoors of Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Queens, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“The thing is that when you hear about somebody who had it, say, ‘You know what? It’s really good,’ and then you see the line, [those are] two facts that actually say, OK, you know what? It’s worth the wait,” he told The Post after just getting off the line. “When people really like it and they want to wait in line and you see other people validate it. Sure, why not [wait]?”
Allie Struda, 24, and Emma Barrett, 28, both live in the metropolis and are acquainted with the “lore” of Salt Hank’s, they explained moments after securing their French dip sandwich.
For those unfamiliar, Salt Hank — real title Henry Laporte — gained fame on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic through his viral cooking videos. It led to followers, model offers and a cookbook before last 12 months, when he opened up his own brick-and-mortar store in the West Village.
The $38 sandwich has grow to be fairly standard at the U.S. Open. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The store turned an prompt success, serving just the French dip sandwich that is now a hit at the U.S. Open.
“We’re from the city, so we know the lore of Salt Hank’s and how good it is,” Struda explained. “We have not had the chance to try it, so we’re like, why not?”
“Sometimes the line draws you in,” Barrett added.
“Social media is the reason,” Barrett went on, noting the fixed social media posts about the sandwich. “Literally, that’s it, and I’m f–king hungry.”
Salt Hank reveals off his sandwich before the U.S. Open Tamara Beckwith/NY Post
While the USTA doesn’t have a complete depend of how many sandwiches have been offered through the U.S. Open thus far, Daniel Zausner, the chief working officer of the national tennis heart, has said that Salt Hank’s has offered threefold daily what they’d promote out of their West Village store on a given day.
“It hasn’t surprised me that the interest was going to exceed everyone’s expectations,” Zausner told The Post. “What I’ve been very pleased about, not surprised, but pleased, is that doing for them three times the volume of what they do in their space, they’re able to maintain that consistency and that quality of the 1,500 sandwiches as good as the first one is during the day.”
Zausner and the USTA will surely like to have Salt Hank’s back after this 12 months’s match, but he also hopes that it has labored out for them as effectively.
Lines type for a Salt Hank’s sandwich outdoors of Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Queens, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Salt Hank’s closed its West Village store for the three weeks of the U.S. Open to focus on the stand on the grounds of the match.
“I’m at the stage now where I just don’t want them to feel like they made a mistake to give up that commitment to their flagship location,” he explained. “Because I’d like to see them come back. We just want to see them be really successful, feel really good about what they’re doing.”
Stay up to date with the latest trending topics! Visit our web site daily for the freshest Sports news and content, fastidiously curated to keep you informed.
