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Taste Unlimited (From Gourmet Retailer Magazine)

By Kristin V. Montalvo
October 2006 - Virginia Beach, VA

This past October (2006), Taste Unlimited, known for its gourmet food items, specialty sandwiches, handselected wines and private-label products, underwent a change of command. Peter Coe, founder of the Virginia Beach, VA, based store, along with his daughter, coowner, Sabra Coe Young, announced after 33 years as a solely family-owned and operated store, they were partnering with local lawyer Jon Pruden and his father, Peter Pruden II (all pictured on right).

We caught up with the store a year later to see how this local institution continues to maintain its unique place in the market, while staying true to its family roots.

The Best Damn Sandwiches in Town

Ask any Virginia Beach local where to go for the best sandwich in town, and they'll most likely point to one of Taste Unlimited's six-store locations.

"Actually," remarked Jon Pruden, Taste Unlimited's new president, "we've got the best damn sandwiches in town. People have been coming here since the mid-'70s for those signature sandwiches. They're somewhat of a local legend."

Packed to the gills with a variety of specialty deli meats and cheeses and topped with their regionally famous House Dressing, their Classic French bread sandwiches (hand-cut on a slant) have helped make the thriving specialty food store the epicurean destination for sandwich-seekers and gourmet types alike.

"That core sandwich is still our biggest seller after all these years," said Pruden. "It's half the battle just getting people into a store, and we have people coming in two to three times a week for that sandwich." Pruden said the restaurant side makes up half the business, while the retail component and the wine sales make up the other half.

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