WNEM TV 5 Man makes long distance call for some take out

Man makes long distance call for some take out

Talk about a craving -- Eric Gomez had a hankering for a Mid-Michigan original, a Tony's Steak Sandwich.

No problem just jump in the car and head over to State Street right?

Wrong -- Eric lives about 907 miles away from his beloved Tony's, too far to drive, so Eric did the next best thing. He asked about take-out.

"I asked, hey man, can you FedEx some steak sandwiches to Oklahoma. He said I usually freeze the patties and I'll send you everything separate and you can make them there and I said better yet," said Tony's Steak Sandwich lover Eric Gomez.

David Hilbrandt's been the owner of Tony's on State Street for more than 30 years and orders like Eric's aren't that out of the ordinary.

"Just had a guy last week who took 14 sandwiches back to Miami. I've had California and Washington, but usually what they're doing is flying out," David Hilbrandt, owner of Tony's on State Street, said.

It has some wondering exactly how it works.

"We make sure they have nice fresh bread. We don't put anything together. They have to put them together when they get there because otherwise the bread might get soggy. We have the sauce separate, which is the kicker transporting the sauce," Hilbrandt said.

"All the work and cost was worth it," Gomez said.

With sandwich and shipping costs it works out to about $24 a sandwich.

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