January 01, 2025
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Two Sandwich City Council members question proposed location for sandwich art piece

Don’t want it to be located in downtown

By Eric Schelkopf
As the evening sun sets, a table full of patrons sample food during the Taste of Sandwich, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in downtown Sandwich.

As the evening sun sets, a table full of patrons sample food during the Taste of Sandwich, Wednesday, Sept. 25 2024, in downtown Sandwich. (Steven Buyansky for Shaw Local N/Steven Buyansky for Shaw Local N)

Two Sandwich City Council members are wondering if the city’s downtown is the best location for a larger-than-life-sized sandwich art piece.

The DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau is proposing the sandwich art piece as a tourist attraction. As proposed, the art installation would be located on Railroad Street where the annual Taste of Sandwich is held.

Second Ward Alderwoman Rebecca Johnson questioned whether downtown Sandwich is the best location for the art piece.

“At this point, I’m wondering about it being downtown in our historic area,” Johnson said during the Dec. 16 Sandwich Committee-of-the-Whole Council meeting.

First Ward Alderman Rich Robinson also wondered whether the art piece should be located in downtown Sandwich.

“I’m not really a fan of having it downtown,” he said. “I think we’d be better off putting it in a park or in a better location. I don’t really see people wanting to get pictures when you’ve got parked cars behind in the background and things like that. But that’s just my opinion.”

The project would be funded in part by the Illinois Office of Tourism. The DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau plans to apply for about a $20,000 matching grant to help pay for the project.

“We are very excited about this opportunity,” DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau marketing director Katherine McLaughlin said during the Dec. 2 Sandwich City Council Committee-of-the-Whole meeting. “It’s something we have been looking into for the last three years really.”

Sycamore-based EggToy Studios would create the sandwich art installation, which would be about four feet high.

“They have done art installations all over the U.S.,” McLaughlin said. “It would be two big slices of bread. On one of the slices of bread would be lettuce and tomato and ‘Sandwich, Illinois,’ would be written across it.”

People would be able to step inside the sandwich art installation. She thinks the project would help bring more people to Sandwich.

“They’re getting out of their cars and taking a picture of a sandwich in Sandwich and hopefully grabbing a sandwich,” McLaughlin said.

If the bureau does not receive the grant, it still plans to move ahead with the project.

“We would love to still be able to create the sandwich, but would seek a large donor or multiple sponsorships,” McLaughlin said. “We are very invested and excited about this piece, but we will need financial assistance.”