24-7 Sandwichshop

On 12/12/2006 the charismatic owner of the first and most famous 24/7 Sandwichshop died in his own shop. It was a tragic end to an eventful life.

An obituary.

Alberto knew what he wanted to become at the age of 10. After seeing the construction of the neighbouring building from his bedroom window he was hooked. He wanted to become an architect. Unfortunatly, as he put it, God had different plans. Alberto wasn’t even allowed to finish high school. He was forced to work in the family bakery after his grandpa was injured in an accident. It was hard work, getting up early, kneeding, baking all day.
When Alberto was 20 he wanted out and started planning his ‘great escape’. He wanted to stop working in the bakery, go far way, study, and finally work in the occupation that was his first love: Architecture. In february he got a chance. A french tourist came to buy a loaf of bread and stayed two weeks. When she had to go back to France he followed her. They settled in Paris. To make ends meet they both had to work. She as a shop assistant, he took a temporary job in a bakery -the only trade he knew-. They married and Alberto got an opportunity to buy the bakery. He did. Slowly he started changing the products and modernizing the bakery. Soon he had to hire extra staff. Then disaster struck again. His wife ran away with his best employee, a frenchman named Guy. He would never hire any french staff again. He started hiring architecture students or even architects that wanted a break from their busy lives. They stayed on for a couple of months and shared their knowledge with Alberto. He returned the favour with a lot of advice on life. The employees saw him more as a father figure then as a boss. Some even returned to their hometowns to start their own sandwichshops.
During an especially stressful week, involving the possible return of his wife and lots of big orders he collapsed on the shop’s floor. His last words: ‘I don’t feel too well; Jean Claude can you finish the tuna sandwich?’

He is truly and deeply missed.

-Jean Claude Hausman