Meet the Gen Z Changing the Sandwich Game in Canberra

Ever wondered what the secret to creating a successful brand is? Is it the name? Is it the product? Is it a bit of everything? We spoke to ANU alumna Lucy Holm, the brains behind Canberra's favourite Sandwich shop, Sandoochie, to find out. 

YEAR13: Where did the idea for Sandoochie come from? 

LUCY: Sandoochie was somewhat born out of boredom during COVID. My friend Lachie Cutting, (who now bakes the bread for Sandoochie and has his own unbelievably successful bakery named Under Bakery) started baking bread at the restaurant we were working at. Bread led to sandwiches and sandwiches led to the realisation that there were no established sandwich stores in Canberra.  

YEAR13: Going back a few years, what made you apply for an arts degree at ANU? Did you always have a desire to start your own business? 

LUCY: After school, I wanted to move away from home, which was Sydney. I was looking for an adventure, but I can’t say I had a heap of direction. A friend of my older brothers was waxing lyrical about ANU and on a whim I put it as my first preference and got in! The desire for my own business I think has always been bubbling away. 

YEAR13: Were there times when you had to balance study and your business? How did you manage that? 

LUCY: Sandoochie came after my time studying, but I have always been interested in cooking. So, when I was a student and I needed an income, the natural next step was to get a job in hospitality. My first job was at a school camp - think stodgy stroganoffs, bulk bolognese, big bain-maries of chopped salad, dressing on the side. It was pretty basic, but I loved being in the kitchen. I like the cool room, taking stock, cleaning down. It just fit for me. A few times I was tasked with making meals for smaller groups and I made a curry and it was really decent and everybody loved it.  

YEAR13: So, once the Sandoochie idea was born, how long did it take before the business took off? Was it an immediate success or were there hoops to jump through after you got up and running? 

LUCY: I was originally offered the spot that Sandoochie is in now for a short-term pop-up that was 2 months long. That was my first taste of running my own business. After that, I applied to take over the lease for that site but missed out. After roughly a year, the same site came back on the market and I applied again and I was successful! 

I was then tasked with building Sandoochie to what it was on opening day. This meant hiring a lawyer to sort out the lease agreement, building a kitchen, setting up an ABN and attaining a liquor license, whilst I was still working in a restaurant. This was a massive learning curve. But in the end it was just hours and hours spent on the laptop. Something which I hadn’t done since I was at uni but which ultimately uni prepared me for.  

Once running the business was off to a cracking start, we had lines from day dot, which I think is mostly due to the hype from the pop-ups we did along the way. 

YEAR13: Having so much success straight away show’s you’re doing pretty much everything right already. But what’s the one thing you’ve learned so far by owning a small business? 

LUCY: I think quality accounts for everything. My mantra about Sandoochie is "If it’s good, they will come" and I really hope that’s true of my business. Sandoochie should be a lovely, warm inviting space where you can get a well-considered, delicious sandwich and maybe a cake too if you so desire.  

YEAR13: So, with all the wisdom you have now, if you give your high school self one piece of advice, what would it be? 

LUCY: Get yourself some real experience. You can have terrific ideas, but you need to have the skills to put them into practice.  

YEAR13: And finally, what's the secret to creating a brand that people love? 

LUCY: I think people really respond to authenticity. Sandoochie’s brand is trying to be tongue-in-cheek, hopefully funny and of course, to showcase what we do. But realistically it’s us coming up with something pithy and on the spot. I really want people when they walk into the shop to have a bit of a sense of who we are. We have our unofficial slogan “get off your cooch, come get a dooch” which I think sums it up. 

I know what you're thinking, "If I lived in Canberra, I could eat Sandoochie for lunch every single day." And you'd be right. So if you're still deciding which uni to go to, why not take ANU into account? You can find your course here!