Bates and Martinez met at Del Mar College, a culinary school in Corpus Christi. After graduating in 2000, the two worked together at several restaurants, including Asti Trattoria on East 43rd Street in Austin.
“We complement each other well,” Bates said. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. I bring more of a recipe-driven approach.”
Martinez said he and Bates felt like sandwiches were lacking the gourmet treatment afforded to Austin’s many other eateries. Bates said there are great delis in the city, but most order their meats and breads from the same distributors. Bates and Martinez opened their business, Noble Pig Sandwiches, in 2010 and later changed the business name to Noble Sandwich Co.
At Noble, the chefs cure their own meats, bake bread from scratch and pickle their condiments.
“Ninety-five percent of our menu is handcrafted in-house,” Bates said.
Martinez added, “We wanted to do it the hard way because the hard way is the better way.”
Bates said initially the lower cost of property played a big role in opening in Northwest Austin, but he also saw a market for a more unique dining option in an area that offered little more than chain restaurants at the time.
“There wasn’t a lot of Austin-style restaurants here,” he said. “[Yet] there’s a ton of people out here.”
In March 2014 Bates and Martinez moved Noble to its current location on RM 620. A month later they opened a second location on Burnet Road.
Since opening, Noble Sandwich Co. has become known for its unique take on sandwiches, such as replacing beef with duck pastrami in one of their signature dishes.
Besides offering breakfast on the weekends and lunch daily, the duo recently expanded business hours to include dinner every night of the week.
“We’re not just your lunch destination anymore,” Bates said.
Noble Sandwich Co. offers catering with whole hog roasts as well as happy hours from 5-7 p.m. on weekdays.
Martinez said he never wants the restaurant to get so big that it loses its quality, but he would like to open some new locations.
“Noble nation is what I want,” he said.
Noble Sandwich Co.
12233 N. RM 620, Ste. 105
512-382-6248
www.noblesandwiches.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
