Drip & Melt, a delicatessen serving coffee and toasted sandwiches, opened in Daly City’s Broadmoor neighborhood with little fanfare but a modest grand opening sign at the beginning of February.
Named for the hot brews and panini that anchor the menu, Drip & Melt is the first restaurant venture from cousins Carlos Ramirez and Esteban Lopez.
“My cousin and I came up with probably 500 options, and then Drip & Melt just came to us,” Ramirez said.
Befitting to that name, Ramirez said he and his cousin specialize in melts—among them, a pepper chicken and a tuna, but he also recommends the Cubano—a variation on the ham and cheese originally brought stateside by Cuban expats. Ramirez and Lopez also bake banana bread in-house.
The storefront previously belonged to Sam’s Sandwiches, a halal lunch spot and the companion business to a laundromat next door—both operated by Sam Abualhsan. As Ramirez told The Standard, when Abualhsan retired, his son Tamer took over the business. The two cousins were already friends with Tamer, so when he decided to become a firefighter about a year ago, they negotiated a deal.
Ramirez said it’s been encouraging to see the deli quickly develop a following of folks waiting for their laundry, as well as curious neighbors.
“We’re getting a lot of love from people welcoming us to the neighborhood,” he said.