Sessions wants to be the Wahoo’s of sandwiches

As Matt Meddock sat at his paramedic station in Riverside County, waiting for a 911 call, lights and sirens went off in his head.

The Huntington Beach resident was in his early 30s and had not yet found his calling. He had spent time doing jobs where he didn’t feel completely satisfied, like paramedic and, before that, Newport Beach club promoter.

He had a lot of downtime as a paramedic, which lent him a hand in thinking more deeply about something he was passionate about: sandwiches.

“When I was a paramedic, I started doing more research on sandwich restaurants and what makes a good sandwich and why people like sandwiches,” Meddock, now 35, said. “What I found was the fastest-growing restaurants in the country at the time, like two or three years ago, were sandwich restaurants. But, if you put them all on a map, you’d see them all on the East Coast.”

Meddock dreamed of opening his own deli, and, after receiving a blessing from his wife, founded Sessions West Coast Deli at 2823 Newport Blvd. in Newport Beach in April of last year.

The sandwich shop, which makes its own sauces and uses only fresh ingredients, more recently opened a second location in Huntington Beach at 414 S. Pacific Coast Highway.

Meddock said Sessions believes “good meat, good bread and good cheese in a decent size” is what makes a delicious sandwich.

All of the sauces, like barbecue and balsamic reduction, are made in-house, and the bread is distributed daily from OC Baking Company in Orange.

Textures, like pickled mustard seeds on the pastrami sandwich, add a little something extra.

“We really want people to taste and experience all the different ingredients that are in the sandwich,” Meddock said.

The menu, which ranges in price from $6.75 to $12, boasts about 20 sandwiches.

The most-popular dish is the Summer Zephyr, a vegetarian sandwich topped with generous-sized slices of mozzarella cheese. Meddock said the sandwich is sold 100% more than any other item on the menu.

Meddock, a surfer who considers himself a prototypical “So Cal dude,” said the restaurant’s goal is to be the Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop or Jersey Mike’s Subs of the West Coast.

“If you’re not from here, it’s like you’re not really welcome in the water,” he said. “In that same sense, why are businesses like Jersey Mike’s, Capriotti’s and East Coast delis coming here, when we can just have West Coast delis?”

Meddock also wants his business to be similar to Wahoo’s Fish Taco, which is favored by Orange County’s vibrant action sports community.

“There wasn’t really a sandwich brand for the surfers,” he said. “You don’t pick up Wahoo’s and take it to surf or to snowboard. But, if you’re going to go skate for the day or surf, you’ll bring a sandwich.”

Last year, the Newport Beach location sold about 50,000 sandwiches.

Meddock’s eager to see how much the business will grow now that there are two locations. He also hopes to open more shops on the West Coast in the next few years.

Meddock said Sessions has made him value his past jobs.

“This added so much purpose to my previous job as a promoter because I know so many people now who are eating my sandwiches,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason. I probably wouldn’t have perfected the business plan if I didn’t sit at my station for as long as I did. It’s really cool how everything has turned out.”