Italian Sandwich Company finds success in downtown Kelowna
While a number of businesses have packed up and left Kelowna's downtown core over safety and street disorder concerns, the owner of the Italian Sandwich Company says opening eight months ago was one of the best decisions he's made.
Sandwich shop finds successRob Gibson- Jul 28, 2026 / 4:00 am| Story: 626185Rob GibsonWhile a number of businesses have packed up and left Kelowna's downtown core oversafety and street disorder concerns, the owner of theItalian Sandwich Companysays opening eight months ago was one of the best decisions he's made. Michael Tofano opened the Italian Sandwich Company inside the District Mall's food court right around last Christmas, at a time when many businesses were in an uproar over street crime. Originally from Hamilton, Ont. , Tofano says he's no stranger to tough neighbourhoods, and wanted to bring an old-school Italian sandwich shop with to Kelowna's core. "It's the ingredients for us, right. We take pride in having our ingredients top notch, sourced out from different areas," Tofano said. "All our meats are sourced out of Italy. We make our breads in house fresh daily, produce as well. We try to do as much local produce as we can. "Tofano says the shop is also about rebuilding a sense of community in the downtown core. "I come from one of those cities where I was born and raised in a blue-collar, rough kind of area," he said. "For me, coming to a city like this, it's got character, and I saw the character, and I saw the problems, I saw the crime. It is what it is, but we all work together to make it better. "Family is central to the business. Tofano's daughter helps out on weekends, his son sweeps the floors, his mother handles sales and outreach, and many of the dishes are prepared fresh by his wife. "At the end of the day, we're all family and we're doing our thing," he said.