Salt Hank’s Viral Sandwich Shop, Which He Admits Was ‘Kind of Insane at First,’ Is Officially Expanding (Exclusive)

For Salt Hank, it’s always been the French dip. Henry LaPorte, 31, who’s executive chef and founder of the viral sandwich shop Salt Hank’s, sat down with PEOPLE upon the news that the NYC staple will now be expanding into Wonder this fall.

NEED TO KNOW

Salt Hank’s founder Henry LaPorte is partnering with Wonder to expand his viral French dip sandwich shop this fall

LaPorte insists on maintaining the sandwich’s quality despite expansion, rejecting offers that would compromise ingredients or standards

The shop’s French dip gained popularity through TikTok and now sees long lines at its West Village location

For Salt Hank, it’s always been the French dip.

Henry LaPorte, 31, who’s executive chef and founder of the viral sandwich shop Salt Hank’s, sat down with PEOPLE upon the news that the NYC staple will now be expanding into Wonder this fall.

For LaPorte, the partnership couldn’t have felt more natural.

“[Wonder] just kind of just fit exactly what we were looking for. We had a ton of people, once the popularity started to grow a little bit, approach us and try to do different franchise situations or open other locations, things like that. But basically all of them had kind of the same goal, which was cheapen the cost of the sandwich or reduce the quality of the meat or just the cost in general, cost of the goods. And our goal from literally the inception of the sandwich shop was no matter what the margins were, was to never do that.”

He continued: “[Wonder] wants us to make the same sandwich that we make here. If we expand further into other locations or if we start delivery, they don’t wanna f--- up the sandwich. And that was our entire goal. If we ever were to expand, nothing could change. And luckily they had the same goal.”

LaPorte, who started out making TikTok videos of himself cooking in 2020, says his past self never could’ve seen this coming. Salt Hank’s weekly sees lines roped around the block on Bleecker Street in New York’s West Village neighborhood, with fans and hopeful customers aiming to get their hands on the one thing on the menu: The French dip sandwich.

“We just celebrated a year and a couple of months and the entire time we’ve been harassed by people that can’t get the sandwich,” LaPorte laughs. “We sell out pretty frequently and we’re just one location right now, but everybody does wanna try the sandwich. So to be able to now finally offer it to a much wider audience is extremely exciting.”

He continues with a smile: “I’m happy to be able to finally answer those DMs that are like, ‘Why the f--- can’t I get this sandwich!’ And now I’ll be like, ‘You can!’ You know, to a certain degree.”

LaPorte says that the goal is to keep expanding “further and further and further” with Wonder as the business continues to scale and grow, keeping the “momentum” of the last year plus change.

“I’d love to see it in California,” he ponders about the potential future of the business. “Just being a California dude, I would love to see one in San Francisco or the Bay or LA or something like that.”

The origin of the now coveted sandwich is tried and true, as LaPorte explains it was a fan-favorite among his trusted audiences (read: friends and family) before he decided to make it the star of his sandwich shop.

“It always made sense to make this sort of a more kind of upscale sandwich shop. The French dip is something you would see on a menu at a really nice restaurant or something. And it’s also the sandwich that my friends are f---ing obsessed with at home and my family’s in love with,” he says of the now-viral sandwich. “To have a fast casual version of it, normally you have to get it at a restaurant where it takes a month to get a reservation there or something like that. So now we were able to build a fast casual version of a very upscale sandwich.”

Of course, there were speed bumps into deciding opening a sandwich shop with just one sandwich on the menu.

“My partners were like, ‘What are you f---ing doing? This is insane!’ And it was kind of insane at first,” he laughs. “We had the option to pivot in the beginning, but because of how immediately out the gate successful it was we basically stopped having that option once people were like, ‘Okay, we love the sandwich. If you change it, there’s gonna be, like, an uprising revolt against you.’ Once it became typecast as the Salt Hank’s French dip sandwich, we were f---ed and pigeonholed from there.”

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PEOPLE can confirm the sandwich is, in fact, as good as the masses claim. It’s tender, juicy, packed with flavor (pro tip: add the pickled peppers for some extra acidity) and most importantly, quality.

And the best day to beat the line? Wednesday afternoons, LaPorte says.

LaPorte should be proud of the work he’s doing and has done, but his humbleness and ability to build the connection between himself and the people eating the food he created it for are what keep people coming back for more.

“I’ve never not had the most intense imposter syndrome of all time. So every single time I see a line outside the door, I still get giddy and butterflies in my stomach. It never doesn’t freak me out that people are still lining up,” he gushes. “I couldn’t be more grateful and just like in love with the people that are in love with this sandwich.”

He continues: “I had heard so many horror stories of running a restaurant, and I’d known people kind of in the industry, and I’ve worked in kitchens — I knew that it was such a shit show of an industry that I was a little bit timid to even try it. But I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. So it was always in the back of my mind, like, ‘If you can pull this off, that’s a dream come true.’”

Though LaPorte hits at potential new food creations and menu items to come (“I’m gonna keep close to my chest a little bit,” he teases), he quite likes where he’s at and where he — and Salt Hank’s — are headed.

“I’m very glad this is what I chose to do with my time and I don’t think that I’m gonna switch lanes anytime soon,” he says. “I fell in love with it and I’m still in love with it. It’s wonderful how it’s turned out.”

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