• Detroit Sandwich Week is an annual event supporting local restaurants during the slow week between Christmas and New Year’s.
• The tradition was started a dozen years ago by local food enthusiast Carlos Parisi to bolster small businesses.
• This year’s event features seven stops over five days at various delis, restaurants, and wine bars in and around Detroit.

After Thursday’s Christmas holiday, it’s time to get ready for what’s become an annual tasty Detroit event.

This Friday starts the week sandwiched between Christmas and New Year’s.

And in Detroit, that means it’s time to get ready for what’s become a Detroit tradition, founded by a Detroiter: Detroit Sandwich Week.

The annual Detroit Sandwich Week celebrates five days and seven events of sandwiches at local restaurants.

It’s been a dozen years since local sandwich and overall food enthusiast Carlos Parisi came up with the idea of Detroit Sandwich Week to help support local businesses during a slow time.

Doing so also allowed Parisi to take sandwiches to another level.

“It’s beautiful because what Sandwich Week has done is given me a chance and an opportunity to do so much more,” Parisi said. “I started a podcast and was able to host TV shows and now the sandwich party, the Detroit sandwich party, which is insanely successful. It all stems from sandwich week.”

Parisi is also the owner and founder of Aunt Nee’s, whose products include Detroit-made tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole sold at Eastern Market and several metro Detroit stores.

Detroit Sandwich Week started out while Parisi worked at a corporate job. During the holiday season, Parisi and others were able to take longer lunch hours and got the idea to help support local businesses during the period between Christmas and New Year’s.

While over the years the event grew, it’s stayed true to its mission of supporting local businesses. Each year, the event typically draws hundreds of people to stop in a select group of sandwich shops.

Parisi said that while Sandwich Week was something he first started with friends, it’s now taken on a life of its own.

“It’s really cool because in the lexicon of Detroit, you hear other people say sandwich week,” he said. “That’s so amazing because we know that what that means is, it’s the week between the two holidays where we go and support small business. And celebrate it by eating sandwiches.”

Events this year include a ticketed dinner and the final Detroit Sandwich Week party.

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This year’s Detroit Sandwich Week kicks off noon-3 p.m. Friday at Mudgie’s Deli & Wine Shop on Brooklyn Street in Corktown.

Founded by the late Greg Mudge, the famed Corktown spot is known for its hearty sandwiches piled with fresh-cut meats and cheese, soups and its wine shop. Mudge, who died in September 2021, name is now officially on a secondary street sign above the Brooklyn Street sign in Corktown.