Omaha sandwich shop partners with homeless shelter to help rebuild lives
By Mary Regli
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OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — The South O Sandwich Company, a unique restaurant concept in South Omaha, is partnering with the Stephen Center homeless shelter to help individuals reenter the workforce through training and employment opportunities.
Nick Bartholomew, general manager of the South O Sandwich Company, said the restaurant is unlike any other concept he has worked with.
“I’ve been doing in restaurants a long time. And this is unlike any, concept that I’ve been a part of,” Bartholomew said.
The partnership aims to provide a pathway for Stephen Center guests who have completed their programs to find employment and stability.
“The ideal there was that guests from the Stevens Center who were coming through the program, graduating their programs, could find a leg up, find a way to get back into the workforce,” Bartholomew said.
Bartholomew said workforce challenges are a major issue for metro restaurants, but the South O Sandwich Company hopes to address this through training.
“Once that community is brought back up and taught things like money handling, customer service, preparatory needs and things like that, they become not only more valuable to themselves, but they become more valuable to our community as a whole,” he said.
One of the employees benefiting from the program is James Sova, who needed a job and a place to stay after his father was placed into assisted living.
“The Stephen Center was kind enough to help me out with that. And through that, I found out about this program and I thought, well, maybe that’s a calling that I a restaurant that needs a guy like me. I, I think it’s a good fit,” Sova said.
Sova, who describes himself as a “food geek,” said the South O Sandwich Company offers a chance for people to rebuild their lives.
“Some people don’t get a fair shake in life. Some people have a jaded past, and they’re trying to get their life back together, and they need a break. And this is the kind of place where you get that kind of break,” he said.
Sova also praised the restaurant’s menu, which features unique sandwiches like the Dr. Pepper BLT and Peach of Mind.
“This is not a subway or a or a Jimmy John’s, you know, it’s it’s we had our we had our bread fresh every day,” Sova said.
After operating as a pop-up downtown over the summer, the restaurant has now found a permanent home within ‘The Daily’ on 120th and Center.
“The hope is, is that within a year’s time, the proof of concept is in place where this now can become a local, Omaha concept that translates just about anywhere,” Bartholomew said.
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