New Conway restaurant serves paninis, and newspaper nostalgia, hot off the press

Before diners take a bite out of a fresh panini, an upcoming Conway restaurant hopes they will first be taken back in time.

Presswell’s Sandwich Co. is a sandwich spot created by Warren de Villiers that adopts its theming from the golden era of newspapers — when headlines were delivered on daily print editions, rather than mobile technology.

De Villiers had been hoping to open a sandwich-focused eatery in the Grand Strand for several years now, but knew he wanted to find a way to distinguish it from other local spots. When he came upon a high-end panini press, he had found his specialty.

The theming for Presswell’s Sandwich Co. is a play on the “press” part of the restaurant’s panini press. Newspapers and printing presses represented a nostalgic feeling of older restaurants that de Villiers sought to capture with the place’s industrial interior.

“When they walk in, they’re walking into a different world,” de Villiers said. “They’re going back in time a little bit, back to when things were all slower, a little calmer, and where you’re not married to technology.”

Inside the 1,750-square-foot Presswell’s Sandwich Co., diners will find themselves eating in a space that feels like an early 20th century printing plant. Leather banquettes and booths, dark wood tables and industrial lighting fixtures transform the space inspired by bustling printing factories into a warm, intimate dining spot.

A key element of the design is the restaurant’s era-appropriate lack of screens — no digital menus or televisions will be in Presswell’s Sandwich Co. as part of de Villiers’ efforts to encourage customers to relax, take things slow, and enjoy the dining experience.

Even seemingly simple details like the classic salt and pepper shakers and table lamps are the result of months of planning by de Villiers and Grand Strand-based interior design firm Skyline Studio.

Brick walls, exposed ducting and steam pipes all echo a long-gone era, and, for de Villiers, the feelings and atmosphere that went with it.

“I want them to feel welcome when they walk in, and I want them to be able to stay and enjoy the experience,” de Villiers said.

Hot off the panini press will be newspaper-themed sandwiches that feature unique, artisanal ingredients. Making the front page of Presswell’s Sandwich Co.’s menu is what de Villiers has coined the “Headliners,” referring to the restaurant’s star paninis featuring ingredients from chutney to fig.

Diners looking to enjoy more traditional sandwiches can check out the “Classifieds,” which include classic sandwiches like ham and cheese, roast beef and grilled cheese.

Presswell’s Sandwich Co.’s menu also offers soups, which can be served in bread bowls, and the option for diners to turn any sandwich into a wrap or a salad bowl.

The restaurant will bake all of its own bread in-house daily, after the restaurant’s team spent significant time perfecting the best bread recipe.

De Villiers said he thinks the housemade bread, and the focus on panini sandwiches, can help Presswell’s Sandwich Co. stand out from other sandwich spots across the Grand Strand.

Presswell’s Sandwich Co. is eyeing an opening in late September in Conway’s revitalized Coastal Centre. When the restaurant opens, de Villiers hopes the Grand Strand won’t just be gaining a new sandwich spot, but that diners will embrace the old-timey atmosphere that invites a slower approach to life.

“The entire idea behind the spot is just to take it back a notch, take it back to the old school, take it back to this time period where things were all slower,” de Villiers said. “People used to spend more time with their families, time with their friends, and I really wanted to harp on the idea of going back and that nostalgic feeling.”