Sally Sue's Sandwich Bar Dartford: Family-business may close

Sally Sue’s Sandwich Bar, based in St Vincent’s Road, opened on June 4, 2013, three years after Sally and her family moved to Dartford.

The shop is family run with Sally at the helm and help from her daughter and husband.

While Sally receives nothing but positive feedback from the community, business has dropped and she has no choice but to give it until the end of October to see if she will have to close the business.

Sally said: “I’m not the easiest person to get on with, any of my customers will tell you, but they all say we should have a show.

“They come in sometimes just to be lifted up because when you go somewhere – if I’m having a bad day, it would be nice for someone to cheer me up if I went in their shop and that’s what we aim to do.

“People say they love coming in the shop.”

As well as providing community spirit and uplifting conversation, Sally Sue’s offers “something for everyone” when it comes to food.

They source as much of the food they use as possible from other family run businesses and all of their food is made fresh daily.

For example, anyone heading in for a sandwich can choose their bread, filling, salad and sauces and see their sandwich made in front of them.

They also offer a cooked breakfast which customers can have as a full English or even in a wrap or sandwich.

There are also smash burgers on offer and smash sausage patties as well as specials such as a curry people can have with rice or a jacket potato.

A dog eating a free sausage at Sally Sue's Sandwich Bar (Image: Sally Sue's Sandwich Bar)

Sally grinds amazonian coffee beans in the coffee machine for those wanting a caffeine kick and also offers milkshakes that are made in house with real ice cream.

It’s a real priority for Sally to cater to what her customers want: “If people ask me to make something and I can do it, I do it.”

Sally Sue’s sees regulars come in everyday, with Sally telling the News Shopper that a woman who came on the business’ first day open is now her best friend and continues to come to Sally Sue’s multiple times per week.

Sally said: “We have regulars every day.

“Most of them are locals, it’s a bit of a community place.

“We have a guy who comes in three times a week and he owns a double glazing firm and he sits in and eats, chatting with the girls and having a laugh.

“It’s a community as well and over Covid – the first lockdown – we were the only ones open.

“We were super busy over Covid and everyone got to know us.

“We helped out the old people who didn’t want to come out so my husband would drop off little boxes on their doorstep with bread and milk and the essential items because we knew they wouldn’t come out.

“That’s what we do because it’s no big deal that’s what we should all be doing, helping each other out, and that’s what we do at Sally Sue’s.”

Despite all of this, business has dropped for the sandwich bar recently and it could mean the end of the business.

Six months ago, Sally had eight members of staff and now there are only two because she can’t afford to pay their wages.

Sally told the News Shopper that their takings have more than halved in the last few months.

“But we’re a community,” she went on to say “the girls don’t just work for me we’re friends we’re like a family. It’s different to anywhere else.”

While not all cafes in the area are dog friendly, Sally encourages furry friends to come in by offering a free sausage to any customers who bring their pup in.

Friends of hers have even said that when Sally Sue’s Sandwich Bar is closed, dogs walking past press their noses against the window in search of their free sausage.

There is also parking available in front of the sandwich bar which is part of a courtesy keep clear zone, so Sally urges customers to know that this is not a legal keep clear zone and therefore, they can park there for short periods of time.

Or, if anyone is keen to try Sally Sue’s but cannot get to the shop Sally is keen for people to know that they are happy to deliver.