In late 2002, Kevin Gregor purchased his favorite neighborhood sandwich shop after spending years as one of its most loyal customers. Originally named Tiny’s because the space was small but sold big sandwiches, Tiny’s first opened for business in 1999. Unfortunately, the sandwich shop endured financial difficulty as the neighborhood saw a decrease in foot traffic, but Gregor believed Tiny’s could be saved so he became its sole proprietor.

Thanks to years in management as a technology consultant, Gregor transformed Tiny’s by hiring new staff people, redesigning the kitchen and building new relationships with vendors. Within six months Tiny’s increased its profitability and saw an increase in business. As other businesses opened on the Lower East Side, Tiny’s clientele became more diverse and ranged from area employees to tourists and young professionals.

In 2004, Gregor heard there was a larger and geographically prime corner location that became vacant just next door to the original operation. Now Tiny’s seats 25 people, offers custom-made sandwiches, caters, and even hosts a bi-monthly art opening for rotating installations.

Customers can create their own sandwiches on 5 different types of fresh bread using combinations of turkey, ham, roast beef, grilled chicken, cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella, hummus, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, roasted peppers, and avocados (Gregor maintains that there are over one million possible sandwich combo options at Tiny’s). In 2005, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) awarded Tiny’s The Best Vegetarian Food Entrées Golden Bun Award Winner for the Big Mack Daddy. For first-time Tiny’s patrons, the Big Mack Daddy is a veggie burger with tofu bacon, cheddar, special sauce and five additional toppings. Think it stops there? That’s not even the half of it! Tiny’s has a host of hot and cold signature sandwiches available in two sizes (small and large) and specialty salads with a choice of nine types of dressing.

According to Gregor the top four choices among his customers are the Big Mack Daddy, The Spicy Rizzak, the Hot Roast Beef, and the Grilled Chicken Po’ Boy. For those of you wondering about Gregor’s favorite sandwich he usually creates his own or eats a Tiny’s Tasty Happy Salad. The average lunch at Tiny’s with a beverage costs $5 to $8. According to Gregor, “Since opening, Tiny's has served over 300,000 sandwiches, and there's nothing tiny about that.”