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Sandwich kingpin makes big promises to Shohei Ohtani if he signs with SF Giants

Ike's Love & Sandwiches will become Shohei's Love & Sandwiches if the superstar signs with the SF Giants in free agency

Sean Keane

Sandwich kingpin makes big promises to Shohei Ohtani if he signs with SF Giants
Sandwich kingpin makes big promises to Shohei Ohtani if he signs with SF Giants /
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Ike's Love & Sandwiches has been a Bay Area institution since 2007, featuring a large menu of sandwiches, including many honoring past and present SF Giants players. But while patrons can still enjoy a Matt Cain (#18, has roast beef, salami, turkey, and provolone) or a Hunter Pence (#34, turkey, bacon, avocado, BBQ sauce, honey mustard, three kinds of cheese), owner Ike Shehadeh says he'll go even further if Los Angeles Angels double-threat Shohei Ohtani (#1-ranked free agent) signs with the Giants.

It's not the first time Ike's has gotten involved in free agent recruitment. We talked to Ike Shehadeh himself to get the details on his Ohtani pitch - and we're pretty sure baseball's collective bargaining agreement contains no mentions of sandwiches.

When Kevin Durant was a free agent in 2016, Shehadeh offered him free Ike's for life if he signed with the Golden State Warriors - something Durant routinely took him up on when he was in the Bay Area. While not explicitly offered by Ike's in the Warriors pitch, KD could have had his own sandwich - but he always used Door Dash rather than coming into the store.

When Aaron Judge was a free agent, Shehadeh upped the stakes, pitching him free Ike's and his own sandwich. Sadly, Judge stayed with the New York Yankees, forfeiting his chance at lunchtime immortality. But we hope the slugger at least gets a discount at Katz's Delicatessen for his loyalty to NYC.

Ohtani would get the full package. Free Ike's for life, his own signature sandwich, and the store renamed to "Shohei's Love & Sandwiches." It's not clear if every single Ike's store would be renamed, but the new Mission Rock location certainly would bear Ohtani's name.

The first SF Giants player to get his own sandwich was Cain, when he was first emerging as a star. He was also emerging as a regular Ike's customer, frequently visiting the first store with his now-wife. Cain always ordered the "Tony Soprano" Italian sub, so Shehadeh offered him the sandwich that now bears Cain's name.

Since then, players have gone into the kitchen to design their own sandwiches. Marshawn Lynch designed his own, as did Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, whose sandwich is Ike's personal favorite among his athlete collaborations (#240, steak, yellow Ike's barbecue sauce, light habanero, pepper jack, and American cheese).

We asked Shehadeh if Ohtani would still get a sandwich if he signed with a different team, and he allowed that if he stayed with the Angels, he'd be open to an Ohtani sandwich in his Southern California stores. But not if he signs with the Dodgers.

"I'd probably ban him," Shehadeh said.

There's an Ike's very close to Chase Field, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are big customers, so he allowed that Ohtani could get 50 sandwiches in the unlikely event he signs with the D-Backs. But not Ike's for life unless he's a Giant.

There have occasionally been conflicts as Shehadeh expanded Ike's beyond the Bay Area. For example, the Lincecum sandwich was left off the menu in the Phoenix location, which opened when the Giants were still winning titles. Someone suggested that they rename Timmy's sandwich for Paul Goldschmidt, "because he ate Lincecum for lunch." (Goldschmidt hit .536 off Lincecum with seven home runs in 28 at-bats.) But out of loyalty to Lincecum and appreciation for his pitching and culinary artistry, the people of Phoenix were deprived of the Lincecum sandwich.

In Los Angeles, Yasiel Puig regularly ate at the Westwood location of Ike's, but before he could get his own sandwich, the Dodgers traded Puig to the Cincinnati Reds. Despite being his rival, Bumgarner was OK with a Puig sandwich - as long as it wasn't as good as his own. (The Puig would have been an LA-only offering) A potential Clayton Kershaw collaboration was derailed by the pandemic, saving Shehadeh some grief from Giants fans.

The most recent Giant to get his own sandwich was Logan Webb, who spent a day at the Phoenix Ike's during the lockout before the 2022 season.

Who's next? Shehadeh says it's most likely Bob Melvin, new manager and Bay Area native. He considered giving Gabe Kapler his own sandwich after leading the Giants to 107 wins, but ultimately Kapler's reluctance to eat carbohydrates makes him a poor fit for a sandwich shop.

"If he'd asked for a lettuce wrap," Shehadeh said, "I'd have thrown him out."

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Sean Keane
SEAN KEANE

Sean Keane (he/him) is a writer, stand-up, and co-host of the Roundball Rock NBA podcast. He wrote for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” his work has appeared in McSweeney's, Audible.com, and Yardbarker, and he's performed at countless festivals, including SF Sketchfest, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, RIOT LA, and NoisePop. In 2014, the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Sean an “Outstanding Local Discovery,” and promptly went out of business.

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