KaTom Helps Joey's Sandwich Shop Continue a Family Legacy of Friendly Service
A single picture hangs near the front entrance of Joey's Sandwich Shop: a black and white print of Joey Natour and his dad standing by the entrance of Pete's Restaurant & Coffee Shop.
Months after helping sell his father's downtown Knoxville breakfast staple, where Natour grew up washing tables and greeting regulars, he started his own sandwich shop in the Choto neighborhood of West Knoxville.
Joey's Sandwich Shop serves sandwiches, wraps, and bagels for breakfast and lunch in a largely underserved suburb. The shop is focused on quick, kind service and quality food. All sandwiches and salads are made to order, and the fresh coffee is sourced from local roasters. Natour sees the business as his contribution to the community.
"I like waking up early,” Natour said. “And I like feeding people breakfast and lunch."
The Right Equipment
Natour opened his shop in April of 2025. After browsing several national restaurant equipment suppliers, he decided on KaTom, relying on the relationship with Strategic Account Manager William Brown that first developed during the years Natour helped manage Pete's. Brown helped Natour find the appliances, storage, and smallwares needed to get the new restaurant running.
Among the equipment provided by KaTom were sandwich shop staples such as refrigerated prep tables, reach-in refrigerators, and two Merrychef high-speed ovens. The ovens' ventless design allows Natour and his staff to quickly heat sandwiches and melt cheese without an expensive grill and hood, which could easily double or triple what Natour paid for the ovens. The setup enables quickly served toasted sandwiches.
"I wouldn't have gone into foodservice if I hadn't found a product to make sandwiches like that," Natour said.
While KaTom’s extensive catalog and vendor relationships were a major benefit for Natour, he also chose KaTom because of the opportunity to buy local and receive quality, tailored service even after KaTom secured his account.
"The customer service was still there after I wrote the checks," Natour said of his relationship with Brown.
Fast and Friendly
Years of working alongside his parents inspired in Natour a respect for successful business owners and a commitment to customer service. He credits his parents for teaching him three Cs of foodservice: Consistency, Cleanliness, and Courtesy. Rather than trying to expand, his goal is to truly integrate his current space into the community.
Joey's Sandwich Shop balances a streamlined, fast-casual eatery and laid-back, local sandwich shop by serving customers quickly yet offering friendly faces. About 80 percent of breakfast orders during the week are pick-up, but after grabbing their meals, customers often stick around to chat.
"When they come in, they see Joey," Natour said. "Already, I'm knowing people's names when they come in. I'm knowing what they get, and that's always, to me, the fun part of it."
