The 12th Earl of Sandwich stops by the new Downtown Disney restaurant for a bite

The 12th Earl of Sandwich stopped by the newest Earl of Sandwich restaurant bearing his British nobility title for — what else — a sandwich during a grand opening ceremony of the Downtown Disney restaurant.

Earl of Sandwich hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, July 15 in honor of the official grand opening of its new two-story location at the outdoor shopping mall next to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

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The 12th Earl of Sandwich, Luke Montagu, traveled to Anaheim from his 1,900-acre 16th century estate in England for the occasion.

“The food is really good,” Montagu said. “And as long as I get free sandwiches, I’ll keep coming back.”

Montagu had the signature dish on the menu: Hot pastrami with melted Swiss and sauerkraut.

“This sandwich sustained me in New York when I was studying at Columbia University through many cold New York winters,” Montagu said. “But of course, the sandwich has come a long way since the fourth Earl put a slice of beef between two slices of bread, so he didn’t have to stop working, or gambling is another possibility.”

Following the press event, the Montagu family planned to visit Disneyland on Wednesday after watching the England versus Argentina World Cup semifinal on the telly in the pub at the new Gordon Ramsay at the Carnaby.

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The 33-restaurant chain traces its heritage to 1762 when the 4th Earl of Sandwich popularized the hand-held meal and inspired its name.

Luke Montagu founded a series of tech, media and education businesses that he runs from Mapperton House, the Sandwich family’s Jacobean manor that dates to the 1540s.

His wife, Julie, is an American-born yoga instructor from Chicago who married into one of Britain’s best-known aristocratic families and became a Ladies of London reality television star known as the “American Countess.”

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Together, they host a YouTube channel that takes viewers on tours of “Britain’s Finest Manor” and gives them behind-the-scenes looks at the harsh realities of maintaining an English country estate.

Mapperton House offers cottage rentals, coach house weddings and guided tours of the grounds featuring 20 residential properties and a 12th century chapel in Dorset, England — a three-hour drive from London.

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The nomadic Earl of Sandwich restaurant has been without a permanent home at Downtown Disney since 2022 when the original sandwich shop was torn down along with AMC Theatre, Starbucks West and Sugarboo and Co. as part of the renovation of the west end of the retail and dining center.

The new Earl of Sandwich restaurant has been in soft opening mode since late June.

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The largest and most ambitious restaurant in the chain’s history includes a pastrami carving station, bakery with seasonal specialties and a bar serving beer, wine and frozen drinks.

The new flagship restaurant continues to serve a menu of hot and cold sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, breakfast and desserts.

The new Gordon Ramsay at the Carnaby gastropub above the new Earl of Sandwich soft opened on Monday, July 13.