Taylor Gourmet opens its first new location under new ownership today.

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D.C. survived nearly a year without the giant hoagies from Taylor Gourmet, after the company shuttered abruptly last September amid a bankruptcy filing. Today, the first location of Taylor Gourmet 2.0 has reopened under new ownership.

The sandwich chain’s White House-adjacent location is the first of three planned locations from new owner Steve Kalifa. The real estate developer won the company in a bankruptcy sale in March, according to Washingtonian, and is reviving the company with the same branding and recipes as before. (Kalifa has also assumed operation of the Taylor at Washington National Airport, which has remained open since the company’s demise under a different licensing agreement.)

The overstuffed hoagies and risotto ball appetizers at Taylor might remind you of the offerings at another sandwich shop, Grazie Grazie at The Wharf. That’s because it’s owned and operated by Casey Patten, the former owner of Taylor Gourmet 1.0. Patten opened the shop without much notice in April, with a menu bearing sandwiches that are awfully similar to Taylor’s. The Washington Post proclaimed that Grazie Grazie is “the second coming of Taylor Gourmet, only better.”

Back when all of Taylor’s locations—including 17 in the District—closed last September, employees blamed a decline in sales on backlash following Patten’s participation in a small business roundtable with President Donald Trump at the White House shortly after the inauguration. The company, meanwhile, said expanding too quickly led to the business’ collapse.

Taylor’s new owner, Kalifa, once reportedly had plans to purchase the Washington City Paper, alongside conservative columnist Armstrong Williams. (Venture capitalist Mark Ein ended up purchasing the alt-weekly.) Kalifa has some food experience, per Washingtonian, having owned Los Angeles franchises of Popeye’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut.

“People love the food. People love the concept,” Kalifa told the site in April about his plans for the new Taylor. “We’re not going to change a lot.”

Previously: 

Taylor Gourmet Is Being Revived By A New Owner 
Taylor Gourmet Owner Opening Up A New Sandwich Shop On The Wharf
Now-Shuttered Taylor Gourmet Had A Loyalty Program With A Big Loophole
Taylor Gourmet Is Closing All Locations

Filed Under: fast-casual, restaurants, Taylor Gourmet,