First Look: Potbelly Sandwich Shop opens in University Hills

Lori Midson | June 2, 2014 | 10:00am

Potbelly Sandwich Shop, which got its start in Chicago in 1977, originally as Potbelly Sandwich Works, a small antique store run by a young couple who began making sandwiches for their customers, has arrived in Denver, opening its first Mile High outpost in the University Hills Shopping Center. The Denver sandwich shop, one of more than 300 across the country, is now overseen by Potbelly chairman Bryant Keil, whose sandwich board trumpets eleven "signature" and "favorite" combinations, as as well as a "build-your-own" list of ingredients. And the joint is cheap: All of the sandwiches, which are toasted, are under $5. A slew of salads, plus chili, seasonal soups, hand-dipped shakes, malts and smoothies and fresh-baked chocolate cookies, round out the menu.

The fast-casual space, bedecked with a pressed tin ceiling and a potbelly stove, is splashed with orange paint muraled with jutted Rocky Mountains, city skyscrapers and railroad cars, and there are plenty of other local accents, too, including tables embossed with names of Colorado sports teams and black-and-white photos of the city's landscape back in the day.

There are several more stores planned for the Denver metro area, including one on the 16th Street Mall, another in Lakewood and a fourth store at 965 South Colorado Boulevard.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Here's a first look at the quarters.