Michael Voltaggio Reformats Ink.Sack Into Even More Casual Sack Sandwiches

The world has been patiently waiting for the reveal of Michael Voltaggio’s mysterious sophomore restaurant effort up on Sunset Boulevard, but practically nobody saw things going down this way. Apparently, in a private media event last night, the Top Chef winner announced that he’d be reformatting his popular Melrose sandwich takeaway ink.sack into an even more casual concept called Sack Sandwiches. In addition, Voltaggio is opening a second location next to his as-yet unnamed Sunset Strip restaurant.

The move is set to take effect immediately, with the Melrose location temporarily shuttering come Sunday for a branding overhaul. That's a short-term measure only, as the team on site there pulls double duty transferring ink.sack into the new Sack Sandwiches universe and focuses on getting the Sunset Boulevard location off the ground simultaneously. Quickly enough, Melrose will reopen alongside the Sunset stop.

Regarding the transition from ink.sack into Sack Sandwiches, Voltaggio says:

"What started out as as chef driven concept, slowly became a guest driven one. We adjusted our menu and the way we operate from what we've learned from the people who come through our doors every day."

The new Sunset Strip space should be open by Thursday, February 25, with plans to keep lunch through late night hours, meaning 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. They'll also have lots of Stumptown cold brew on nitro, milkshakes by way of Strauss Creamery, and fountain sodas from Boylan's.

Though some might consider the use of the new Sunset Boulevard space as a simple sandwich shop a bit of a bummer, considering Voltaggio's penchant for much more refined dinner fare at his popular restaurant ink., it’s likely good news for the chef himself. After all, this new sandwich venture has all the makings of becoming something eminently repeatable. It's already working at LAX, where Voltaggio has had his own version of ink.sack since 2013.

Update: Reps for Voltaggio say that the Sunset Boulevard space is actually two full spaces in one, so there's still room for a full service Voltaggio follow-up to ink. in addition to the arrival of Sack Sandwiches next week.

Sack Sandwiches Sunset
8915 W. Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA