A Mother-Son Duo Is Slinging Tuscan-Style Sandwiches on Schiacciata in the Marigny

A prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich from Lunch. | Merrill Stewart/Eater NOLA

The pop-up, called Lunch, will become a restaurant on Dauphine Street early next year

It’s safe to say schiacciata (pronounced skia-cha-ta) bread, foccacia’s thinner, crustier cousin out of Tuscany, is having a moment. That ideal sandwich bread has made it to New Orleans, courtesy of New York native Lisa Greenleaf and her son Jack Greenleaf, who are serving stuffed and square Tuscan-style sandwiches from their pop-up, called Lunch. They’re simultaneously working on a restaurant, which they expect to open in the Marigny early next year.

The mother-son duo first debuted Lunch in mid-April outside of Pepp’s Pub, the exceedingly friendly neighborhood bar on Franklin Avenue. During their handful of well-attended pop-ups so far, they’ve served four (huge) sandwiches, with plans to add more. One contains prosciutto di Parma, fresh mozzarella, fire-roasted red peppers, pistachio pesto, basil, and balsamic glaze; one with a chicken cutlet, spicy broccoli rabe, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and lemon aioli; one with sweet soppressata, fresh mozzarella, tomato, red onion, and red wine vinaigrette; and a vegetarian sandwich with breaded eggplant, roasted zucchini and red onions, arugula tossed in a lemon garlic dressing, and ricotta cream.

The sandwiches, a perfect day-drinking companion, have been a hit.

Greenleaf moved to New Orleans from New York City a few years ago, finding a family of friends in the Marigny neighborhood. She missed her New York sandwiches, however: There’s Stein’s, of course, and Francolini’s, which Greenleaf loves, has since opened — but that shop’s sub-roll and focaccia sandwiches are fairly specific to New Jersey. The ones she craved are based on Tuscan and Florentine storefronts like All’Antico Vinaio, a world-famous sandwich phenom that made its way to New York a few years back. At the same time, her Marigny neighbors, whom she often hosted for meals, were encouraging her to open up her own place.

That place is 2601 Dauphine Street, a historic three-unit building across the street from the Franklin restaurant. The building was once a pharmacy, a bar, a dry cleaner, and finally, a deli. It’s sat empty since 2008, but was recently bought by one Greenleaf’s neighbors who hoped to open a restaurant in the corner unit. That corner building will be Lunch, a daytime cafe serving a menu of at least six sandwiches, five or so salads, cookies and other baked goods, espresso and coffee, and wine and beer (maybe slushies, too). The building has a courtyard, and Greenleaf envisions sidewalk tables as well. “I want it to be the kind of place where people just come hang out, and I want to be hanging out, too,” says Greenleaf.

For now, Greenleaf wakes up early on pop-up days to bake sheets of schiacciata. “When I was a kid, my great-grandmother would make it as a snack and we would eat it with ricotta cheese and grapes,” she says. Greenleaf’s bread is sprinkled with Maldon salt before baking; she recommends that customers flip their sandwich upside down to get that “explosion of flavor” with every bite.

Greenleaf sources the prosciutto, cheeses, and other meats from Perrone & Sons, a longtime local purveyor of Italian products and muffulettas, and Jack slices them to order on-site. They sell chocolate chip cookies and Jack’s banana bread, which he started vending at Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg when he was just 14. “It’s just been a dream,” Greenleaf says of their mother-son partnership.

The shop’s logo is an Italian Stone Pine, a tree native to the Mediterranean region. Greenleaf fell in love with it on her last visit to Italy, and when she learned it was also called an umbrella pine and parasol pine, the connection to New Orleans was instant. “The reason I’m doing this is because I have so much support and encouragement from my neighbors,” Greenleaf says. “It’s really all because of them.”

The next Lunch pop-ups are Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 at Pepp’s; Greenleaf expects to open the restaurant on Dauphine Street in early 2025.