Henry’s Sandwich Station was a fan-favorite neighborhood sandwicherie in Fort Lauderdale’s fast-evolving Flagler Village for 5 1/2 years. Then, in September 2022, it relocated to the city’s Sistrunk Marketplace food hall.
Last weekend, it permanently closed its doors.
The Henry’s website doesn’t acknowledge its closing, and its Facebook and Instagram pages were abruptly taken down without fanfare or explanation. But in a South Florida Sun Sentinel interview on Wednesday, Henry’s owner Marc Falsetto confirmed the shutdown, saying he couldn’t justify renewing the shop’s lease after it expired.
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Cubano sandwich at Henry’s Sandwich Station in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
“We thought it would be a good fit (at Sistrunk Marketplace), but consumer habits are changing and online ordering isn’t as big as it used to be,” says Falsetto, founder and CEO of Handcrafted Hospitality, which also operates Pizzacraft, Tacocraft and the recently revamped Runway 84. “People want to come sit in the dining room, have a slice of pie and see their sandwich being made. That interaction was lost when we got to the food hall.”
Sales for Henry’s Sandwich Station slumped dramatically in the year since it relocated to the food hall in summer 2022 to make way for the demolition of funky, arty warehouse district FAT Village, he says.
He admits the food hall and brewery, where customers order from QR-coded menus at their tables instead of interacting with servers and chefs, did not in retrospect fit Henry’s business model. That type of interaction was more common at the original Henry’s storefront across the street, an attractive space with roll-down garage doors, industrial lighting and a butcher station where cooks sliced deli meats to order while customers watched.
“We have no bad blood with the food hall,” Falsetto adds. “I just prefer full-service restaurants. We just didn’t see enough (foot) traffic.”
Falsetto says he may resurrect Henry’s once the new FAT Village complex of residential, retail and offices reopens west of Andrews Avenue and south of Sistrunk Boulevard.
Henry’s Sandwich Station opened in early 2018 just as Flagler Village began gentrifying around it. It was originally called Proper Sandwich Shop until a trademark infringement suit filed by Proper Sausages in Miami Shores triggered the name change. In a 2018 interview, Falsetto explained the new name was inspired by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler and the shop’s proximity to the freight tracks behind FAT Village. (Customers could watch Brightline trains whiz past its triangular patio.)
Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel
The salt and vinegar French fries with garlic aioli at Henry’s Sandwich Station in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
From the outset, the breakfast and lunch handhelds at Henry’s became a fixture among arty creatives and young entrepreneurs who lived near FAT Village’s mural-splashed warehouses.
The menu rotated seasonally, but its sandwiches included a Thanksgiving-reminiscent roasted turkey breast with cranberry goat cheese jam, avocado and arugula; a shaved ribeye Philly cheesesteak with American cheese and caramelized onions on an Italian roll; a juicy French dip served on a semolina baguette from Fort Lauderdale’s Gran Forno; and a Cubano with slow-roasted Heritage pork shoulder, atop a toasted garlic roll with melted provolone, hot cherry peppers and au jus.
There were also French fries crowned with an array of toppings, from Old Bay seasoning to garlic pesto to salt and vinegar with housemade garlic aioli. For dessert, its bake shop featured coconut cream and strawberry rhubarb pies, cookies and vegan chocolate fudge cake.