Marin County’s best sandwich shop isn’t open on weekends

Editor’s note: In this recurring column, SFGATE food writers celebrate the Bay Area’s rich deli culture by spotlighting longtime family-run delis — the neighborhood institutions — and the newer community sandwich hubs.

Sometimes a lunch order comes in to Michael’s Sourdough Sandwiches and the caller asks owner Jole Braun for a sub on Dutch crunch. She’ll pause, and gently remind them of her popular San Rafael deli’s name.

Michael’s Sourdough is a Marin County lunchtime staple inspired by San Francisco’s trademark bread, but the shop could easily go unnoticed unless you work a nine-to-five job in the county or grew up there.

It’s tucked within an industrial corridor near the split between Interstate 580 and Highway 101. The shop doesn’t advertise and hasn’t updated its Instagram in four years, but it’s the type of hometown joint that students back from college choose for a reunion lunch. 

Its success is due, in part, to how Michael’s Sourdough upholds a commitment to family. Braun opened the first location with her ex-husband Michael (there’s a second location in Novato, run by Braun’s brother) and the two insisted on maintaining a schedule that allowed them to be present parents. 

Sandwiches are only available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It took a global pandemic for Michael’s Sourdough to open on a Saturday and that schedule lasted for only a few months in 2020.

“By having those weekends off, we were there to be at the soccer games and dance recitals,” Braun told SFGATE over the phone. “Our work hours allowed us to drop our three kids off at school and then pick them up. I think that’s been the key to us being around for 34 years — we still have our sanity.”

The other hallmark is, of course, the sourdough, which is baked in-house throughout the day using precise measurements to ensure that there isn’t any food waste. The sourdough sub bread is firm to the touch but the freshness allows for easy munching. “When bread is made ahead of time, it contributes to the hardness,” Braun said. “The fact we’re baking throughout the day means it’s edible and won’t rip the roof of your mouth off.”

Jole (pronounced yo-leh) and Michael met while working for Nordstrom in San Francisco. She said lessons in customer service acquired at the retail giant were baked into their own business model. Michael’s grandparents were restaurateurs in Southern California, but it was his aunt who developed the sourdough recipe. 

“Michael took it and ran with it,” Braun said, noting how the bread swings more sweet than sour. “There was nothing like that up here in Marin, but we were so close to San Francisco — when you hear sourdough, you think of San Francisco.”

The couple found a commercial lease near the freeway in San Rafael and opened with a $15,000 seed and a customer in mind: “We wanted to cater to the Monday-to-Friday everyday guy who comes to work from 8 to 5,” Braun said. The first location was east of 580 but the shop transitioned to a new space at 999 Andersen Drive in San Rafael in 2016.

That clientele was on display during a recent lunch rush. Construction workers waited in line while a pair of mothers with strollers in tow occupied a central table. Outside, a father and son leaned over the table, elbows planted, to bite into their sandos. 

The sandwich board showing the menu hasn’t changed much since the late 1990s and still features illustrated homages to San Francisco with homes on Russian Hill and the Golden Gate Bridge. The most popular sandwich is the No. 3 Roast Turkey (with all-white breast of turkey and Swiss cheese) that can still sell big during Thanksgiving week. The other favorite is the signature No. 4 The Sourdough, a combination of roast turkey, Italian dry salami and Swiss. 

No sandwich costs more than $13. “My son has friends in The City and says, ‘Mom, this is still the best deal in town. You can’t buy a sandwich for less than $20 with chips and drinks,’” Braun said. “We’ve always tried to make it appealing to the everyday guy.”

For superstitious reasons, there has never been a No. 13 sandwich at Michael’s Sourdough and the only major change to the menu was replacing the No. 17 German smoked salami sandwich with The Godfather, a combo of Italian bologna, salami and Provolone. To match the freshness of the bread, Michael’s Sourdough says, it only sources meat that’s free of preservatives. 

Several salad options are available and you can substitute wheat bread, light rye or dark rye for the sourdough (but Braun said that’s a rarity). 

On Wednesdays, Michael’s Sourdough offers bacon, which can trigger a frenzy. On the wall near the counter is a framed essay from a longtime customer named Ryan who attended San Rafael High School. He wrote about “bacon Wednesdays” for his college entrance essay and it worked: He’s since graduated from the University of Michigan. 

“He lives in New York now and always comes in when he’s home to see family,” Braun said, adding that serving multigenerational customers is her favorite part of the business. “Ryan was just here in July and all the guys behind the counter recognized him.”

On the wall over by the soda fountain is a collection of images capturing moments in Marin: Sausalito at dusk, the inside of the Robin Williams Tunnel and an atrium inside the Marin County Civic Center. 

Braun’s oldest son Christopher shot the photographs. He was working as a director of photography in Los Angeles before the pandemic and has since begun helping out at the family business. He decided to follow suit and opened Sour Kid Cafe directly next door earlier this month. 

He’s keeping the same weekday schedule as his parents and the cafe is open Monday through Friday for the morning crowd from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. There’s a full espresso bar and pastries from Rustic Bakery, but the draw is a selection of breakfast sandwiches using the signature sourdough he was raised on. 

Michael’s Sourdough Sandwiches, 999 Andersen Drive, San Rafael. Open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday (sandwiches made from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Also in Novato.