As one may imagine, sandwiches are the stars of the show at the Sandwich Factory.

What kind of sandwiches? A customer can have a shrimp po’boy, a corned beef sandwich, Italian sub or French dip. The Sandwich Factory offers grilled cheese sandwiches with mozzarella, provolone, American and Swiss cheeses, Philly cheesesteaks, chicken sandwiches, meatball sandwiches, wraps, hot dogs, chicken parm sandwiches, the Poorman’s Steak (a.k.a. bologna) and more.

Burger varieties include the popular Heart Attack Burger—with three types of cheese, fried jalapeño chips, fried pickle chips and fried onion straws—the Inside Out Burger, stuffed with cheese within the patty, or a Tropical Burger, containing caramelized pineapple, bacon and cheese.

Find hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, meaty sandwiches, cheesy sandwiches, veggie sandwiches and patty melts on the ample menu.

Though if nothing on the Sandwich Factory menu sounds like the perfect combination, customers can create their own custom sub sandwich choosing from the various breads, meats, cheeses, veggies and sauces in the building.

Tucked away on Chaffin Place, a hotel-lined road just off of the Old Fort Parkway interstate exit, the eatery offers a quite affordable dining experience.

Sandwich Factory serves a solid burger and fries for $5.99. The very crispy French fries are served with a small cup of cheese for dipping.

“If you’ve never had your fries like this, prepare to have your life altered completely. It’s so simple, but has me craving the place,” a local Yelper, Stu, said about the small offering of cheese to accompany the fries. He added that the house-made potato chips taste delicious as well.

The restaurant has a schedule of daily specials, such as the Italian beef sandwich and a side for $5.99 on Tuesdays or, for a little thick-sliced, deep-fried bologna, the Poorman’s Steak sandwich plus a side for $5.99 on Fridays.

Milkshakes are half price from 2–4 p.m., so that means only $2 for a chocolate, mint, hazelnut, marshmallow, green apple, strawberry or other shake selection.

“I love the Tour of Italy sub sandwich,” Ann Nored said. “The basil pesto dressing is so tasty!”

Another customer, Kathy Cowart-Shepperd, recommends the prime rib sandwich on Italian bread. This Italian bread is soft and delicious with some herb flavors going on.

Get your delicious Italian beef sandwich wet (with extra sauce scooped on, getting the bread all soggy) or dry. One local diner, who says he is familiar with the Thai restaurants, hot chicken and other heat-infused local options, said this sandwich, containing roast beef soaked in seasoned Italian gravy and topped with spicy giardiniera or sweet peppers, makes a fairly spicy dish that even made him sweat a little when topped with the hotter giardiniera variety.

Italian Beef Sandwich with spicy peppers

Another Sandwich Factory customer said that one of his few complaints about the entire experience was that the small, thin napkins found at the Sandwich Factory could not begin to handle the needs of a man eating a large French dip, Italian beef or Philly cheesesteak dripping with flavor—but the diner can worry about cleaning himself after lunch is complete.

Other local eaters highly recommend the doughnut burger, featuring a burger patty and toppings of choice in between halves of a sliced glazed doughnut.

Katie McKee said that Sandwich Factory serves the “best grilled cheese I’ve ever had and the fries were freaking amazing.”

Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup

The area around the restaurant contains plenty of fast food options, but consumers can eat from those places in any city and Sandwich Factory, a local, unique eatery, really sits a step above the fast food chains, but at a similar price.

“The prime rib sandwich was everything I wanted it to be and the fries were great too,” a recent customer posted. “Very filling and great price!”

By the way, the restaurant’s selections do include more than sandwiches. Sandwich Factory serves a fine pizza as well. The 10-inch pizza pies, on a light and bubbly crust, are thin but still soft and flaky.

These may appear a little irregular, with some bubbles in the crust and not precisely circular, but really that mainly gives the pizza more of a homemade feel and the bubbles keep it light and fluffy. Many enjoy a pizza that features the cheese and toppings, and not an incredibly thick and dense crust.

Another recent customer said she found the cannoli to be tiny, “but the green apple milkshake was great.”

The large pieces of slab bacon are worth noting also, and Sarah Tennyson said that Sandwich Factory offers the “best fried pickles I’ve ever had.”

What you see is what you get at Sandwich Factory. It’s nothing too fancy or pretentious, but it offers some fine burgers, pizzas and subs, and with the low prices it’s a fairly low-risk endeavor to give it a try.

Sandwich Factory
116 Chaffin Pl.
Mon., Tues. and Sat.: 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; Wed.–Fri.: 10:30 a.m.–8 p.m.
615-494-1211
Factory burger or Factory melt with side: $5.99; 10-inch pizza or calzone with up to one meat and three vegetables: $7.99; Italian beef with one side: $7.99; six-inch club and a side: $6.49; Chicago hot dog: $3.99
sandwichfactorytn.com