D.C. is obsessed with Duke's mayonnaise
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The bathroom at Your Only Friend. Photo: courtesy of Vina Sananikone
Mayonnaise is a controversial condiment — but you wouldn't know it looking around D.C.
Why it matters: Sandwich shops are going mayo mad.
Zoom in: Move over, Hellmann's perfume. Virginia-based Duke's "is the one true mayo," according to Your Only Friend co-owner Paul Taylor.
- It's not just the twang. "They're positive and align with our values."
Customers can worship the creamy condiment beneath a Cathedral-like stained glass window at the Shaw shop. Or in the bathrooms, where tomato-and-mayo-themed wallpaper channels peak summer.
- Come back in winter for "Mayo Merry Christmas" festivities.
Flashback: Back in the condiment dark ages of 2011, mayonnaise was briefly banned from a certain uber-popular sandwich chain.
The intrigue: The Duke's deluge isn't random. It's local, yes, but they're also savvy marketers (see: the Duke's Mayo Football Bowl).
- Compliments Only co-owner Pete Sitcov goes through about 60 gallons of Duke's a month. The company is known to send sandwich shops mayo merch. When Duke's began offering free tattoos for chefs, Sitcov jumped.
As for the ham tat that came next: "It's my ode to cold cuts."