On July 9, I biked to 317 Woburn Street for the grand opening of Mike and Patty’s, the new breakfast sandwich shop at the Lexington takeout plaza (near the Harrington School). Whether on wheels or on foot, this location is slightly difficult to navigate. It’s outside the city center, and there is a lot of construction in the area. The corner strip mall has mostly been a hub for takeout food, but Mike and Patty’s hopes to change that. Seating inside lends itself to unhurried, relaxed meals. Mike and Patty’s serves a spectrum of classic breakfast sandwiches, most containing bacon, fried eggs and cheddar. It also offers a turkey sandwich, geared towards lunch, and a Nutella fluff sandwich for those with a sweet tooth.
Operations manager Enzo Pileggi, a native of Longmeadow, MA, says that the Lexington location of Mike and Patty’s will differ from the other five locations in that it implemented tables and seating areas in-store.
“Most of our guests will probably order in-store versus getting delivery. It’s going to be interesting for us to evolve as a company to see people that are looking to eat in and stay with us a little longer,” said Pileggi. The layout includes five, two-person tables and an elevated counter nestled away in the back, which seats a few more.
The cafe features a mint and evergreen palette with balsam wood accents, complementing the freshness of the food. One wall is occupied by a shelf supporting an army of Nutella and Marshmallow Fluff jars available for purchase, along with Mike and Patty’s store merchandise. Plants, set in patterned pots, line the elevated counter. A few muffins and a pile of thin, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies are arranged behind a glass shield.
The place is already popular. Three out of the five tables are occupied by duos chatting away. At the counter sits an elderly woman sipping a sparkling drink, while a small line at the register emerges. Upbeat contemporary pop music fills up pauses in conversations, interspersed with a few oldies.
What sets Mike and Patty’s apart from your average takeout place is its firm commitment to supporting farms in New England, which increases the freshness of its food and reduces its environmental impact. Pileggi noted that its dairy products are from Vermont and its grain and coffee are from Massachusetts. Only the bacon—imported from Spain—is sourced from outside the region.
The sandwiches that Mike and Patty’s offers are pretty good, but they come at a relatively high cost—averaging around $11 each. Pileggi justifies this by pointing out that Mike and Patty’s pays its “team more than [cheaper sandwich places], we purchase better quality ingredients to have an [environmentally] sustainable business—you have to be able to charge appropriately.”
Mike Gurevich, owner of the Mike and Patty’s chain and a local of the North Shore, lists the “Baller” and “Breakfast Grilled Crack” as two of his favorite sandwiches on the menu. Several items on Mike and Patty’s menu have similar tongue-in-cheek names. Gurevich says that at Mike and Patty’s, “we don’t take ourselves too seriously… We want to put a smile on our guests’ faces” when they order their meals. The store has received a few letters complaining about the name, “Breakfast Grilled Crack.” Gurevich laughs when he reads these letters and refuses to change his sandwich names. The sandwich is a “super” version of Mike and Patty’s old grilled cheese sandwich, and requires a name to reflect it.
The menu includes many breakfast sandwiches, pastries, sides and drinks. The Lexington menu will retain the same items as the other five locations, except that Lexington will have a coffee bar with hot and iced espresso drinks that no other location has. The facility—purchased on Facebook Marketplace—came with nearly new coffee and ice machinery, as well as an oven from the bakery that Mike and Patty’s replaced. Pileggi says, “We have a bigger drink program here, which is exciting.” This will enable the location to serve a plethora of coffees and teas specific to Lexington.
While Pileggi has eagerly anticipated the new opening in Lexington, Mike and Patty’s did not actively seek out Lexington as its sixth location. Instead, he saw that it was available and could open very quickly due to all the equipment being essentially brand new. Now that it is open, Mike and Patty’s plans to contribute significantly to the Lexington dining scene, as well as the community. “We hope to get to know people by name and be a part of the community, and we want to provide exceptional service and provide exceptional food.” At Mike and Patty’s, customers are called ‘guests’ instead of ‘customers,’ as the cafe wants to emphasize that its relationship with its guests is more than transactional.
Mike and Patty’s is committed to positively impacting the Lexington culinary landscape, contributing fresh food and friendly service to the town. Pileggi says, “we want to make sure that we’re creating this culture that is positive, that’s proactive, that’s passionate and that’s precise. We’re going to be here for, hopefully, decades—is the goal.”