Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes

Comic Reality

We all have our favorite foods and Dagwood Bumstead is no different. He has long had a fondness for sandwiches and his sandwich-making skills are legendary. Now Dagwood has taken those skills and stepped out of his comic strip "Blondie" to open his own sandwich shop.

Step into Dagwood's and you'll enter a comic strip world of wholesome fun featuring Dagwood, Blondie and their comic strip friends. While Dagwood's will entertain, it is all about good food. Dagwood hasn't taken his sandwich-making reputation lightly. He has put together a serious menu that includes great sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts.

Hungry? How about a great sandwich and a little comic relief?

Are you hungry? What if you could grab a great sandwich with a little comic relief on the side? Dagwood's is just the place to do both!

Step into Dagwood's and you'll find yourself in the middle of his one-of-a-kind comic strip world showcasing the museum-quality art work from the comic strip that has been an American icon for over 75 years. A 52" flat plasma screen features a mix of comics, upbeat musical hits from the 50s, 60s and 70s and fun facts about the Blondie strip and Dagwood's favorite food... his top signature sandwich, The Dagwood.

Dagwood's has developed more than 30 menu choices that not only include his signature sandwiches, but also wraps, salads, soups and desserts. This is not your average sandwich shop menu. Combinations of meats and condiments are teamed with unique breads for a wide variety of tastes. Salads are made with fresh ingredients. Soups are limited to broccoli cheddar or chicken and andouille gumbo. Sides include signature chips, Dag's slaw or potato salad. Desserts include lots of cake — carrot cake, chocolate cake, cheesecake or English toffee cake. Soda and iced tea are refillable. Wine, domestic and premium beers are available.

A dream come true...

Dagwood, star of the Blondie comic strip, has a fondness for food — sandwiches in particular — and so does his alter-ego and the creator of the comic strip, Dean Young. Chic Young, the originator of the 75-year-old "Blondie" comic strip, died in 1973 and his son, Dean, took over the strip. Over the past 30 years, he couldn't stop thinking about opening a sandwich shop for Dagwood.

How do you turn a dream into reality? You team with Lamar Berry, International Marketing Systems (IMS) chairman, open a test kitchen in New Orleans, corporate headquarters in Clearwater and offer franchise opportunities worldwide.

How do you live up to the world's most recognized name in sandwiches? You spend years collecting your favorite recipes and then put them together with the tastiest meats, unique breads and distinctive condiments to make the world's finest signature sandwiches.

Is there a recipe for success? Add America's growing appetite for tasty sandwiches to a unique themed atmosphere and mix well. And, it doesn't hurt to have friends in the comic strips.

Open wide and say "ahhhh!"

Those that never understood how Dagwood got his mouth around those super-sized sandwiches shouldn't worry. The sandwiches at Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes are quite manageable.

We recently visited Dagwood's Largo location on a Sunday afternoon. My daughter and I just wanted to see what Dagwood's was all about. My husband and my future son-in-law just wanted to eat.

I expected such a big idea to be... well, a bit bigger. Living in a state where anything themed is usually presented larger than life, I was a bit disappointed that my Dagwood's experience would be limited to about a 1,200 square foot area — about the average size of a regular sandwich shop.

Setting my disappointment aside, we got down to ordering. A Chicken Caesar Wrap for myself, two very authentic Cubans and a very juicy New Orleans Roast Beef Po' Boy. Taking advantage of a current Dag's special for any half signature sandwich for $3.99 and adding signature chips and refillable drinks came to just over $25.00 without tax — about average for the area.

Our short wait for our food to be prepared was easily taken up by taking in our surroundings, listening to the toe-tapping "oldies" music and watching the entertaining video of cartoons and fun "Blondie" facts.

It didn't seem long before our food was served in baskets (a bit of 60s nostalgia) with the hot sandwiches "hot" and the wrap cold, but freshly made. Our conversation from then on was limited to "oohs" and "ahhhhhhhhhhs." After sharing bites, our favorite was a tie between the juicy Po' Boy and the Caesar wrap with its crunchy croutons.

Comic strip creator, Dean Young, said, "Fans may come in the first time to see Dagwood's new shop, but they'll come back again and again because of the food."

And, he is right. We'll be back... not because the experience is unique and fun... even though it is. We'll be back because the food is some of the best we've ever tasted.

If you're in the neighborhood where a Dagwood's is located, then it's definitely worth the drive. Dagwood's are currently located in Palm Harbor at the Coral Landing's Shopping Center, 33135 US Highway 19 North (near Clearwater on Florida's West Coast), Largo at 1001 West Bay Drive (also near Clearwater) and Palm Beach Gardens at Northmill Plaza, 4377 Northlake Boulevard (on Florida's East Coast). This summer more Florida locations will open in Bradenton, Destin and Gulf Breeze. Plans are to open over 400 additional Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes in the United States, so one may be coming near you.

Although it is common in the travel industry, in this instance the writer was not provided with complimentary products for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this article, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.