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Ike’s Expanding to Berkeley, Partnering with Original SoupMan?

Ike Shehadeh was in Berkeley last week scouting locations for a possible expansion of Ike’s Place on Bancroft Way, near the Bear’s Lair Pub, as Berkeleyside reports. The move makes complete sense for Shehadeh and his unstoppable sandwich empire, which already has outposts on the campuses of S.F. State and Stanford. Shehadeh admits he’s wary of wrangling with Berkeley’s infamous local government, however. “There’s a history with Berkeley in the way it treats small businesses,” he said. “Everyone speaks about it.” In other, potentially bigger news, Shehadeh says he’s looking into a partnership with the Soup Nazi himself, Al Yeganeh, who just opened his first Bay Area location of his Original SoupMan chain at Fisherman’s Wharf.

It’s unclear, however, whether such a partnership would be solely for a Berkeley location, or whether such a partnership would even be entertained by the soup chain.

Ike’s famous sandwiches may soon be in Berkeley [Berkeleyside]
Earlier: Ike’s Reopens, Starts Filming a Reality Series, NIMBYs Already Losing Their Minds

Ike’s Expanding to Berkeley, Partnering with Original SoupMan?