South San Francisco's Little Lucca Perseveres Amid Pandemic

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The lines that used to stretch out the door are for now, no more. Sales receipts are down at Little Lucca’s two Peninsula sandwich shops as they are at nearly all Bay Area businesses that remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the tiny sandwich shops in South San Francisco and Burlingame are trying to keep things as normal as possible during these crazy times.

They’re keeping the same hours, have kept their staffs virtually intact, and continue serving up the same massive, freshly made sandwiches that have helped them develop a cult following in San Mateo County and beyond for decades.

“Even though it’s a financial hardship on the owners from the payroll aspect of it we have not changed our hours or our days open,” said Diane McClymond, who co-owns the store with her husband Mike. “We have kept everything the same in attempts to let our customers know that we’re trying to keep it as normal as possible.”

Little Lucca first opened its doors in 1980 at its original South San Francisco location at 724 El Camino Real under previous ownership. The tiny shack near South San Francisco High School that's been serving customers for 40 years is barely 400 square feet, McClymond said.

The McClymonds purchased the store from Harold Teani in 2001 and opened the second shop at 1809 El Camino Real in Burlingame shortly afterwards.

They employ about 14 full-timers in South San Francisco and around 10 in Burlingame.
One employee left the state shortly after the pandemic and they let go a part-timer at the South San Francisco shop McClymond said she hopes to bring back.

Despite sales plummeting drastically amid the pandemic – around 50% by McClymonds’ estimation - they’ve kept “all full-time employees responsible for feeding their families and paying rent,” she said.

The McClymonds have changed some menu items, added some specials, and adapted to a more online customer base over the years. But if the online reviews are any indication, they’ve kept the shop’s reputation for serving fresh ingredients along with the famous garlic sauce that fills the air of their shops and figures to help customers practice social distancing hours after they’re done with their meals.
They’re keeping the business afloat during these challenging times by taking serving takeout and some delivery through Doordash.
McClymonds said employees at both stores are strictly adhering to guidelines issued by San Mateo County Health.
“We have all the information coming to us from the county like every other business and we are adhering to it,” she said. “We have six-foot distancing, we’re not letting crowds come in, disabled all our dine-in seating. We’re wearing gloves, we’re wearing masks and the employees have been sanitizing everything everyday constantly.

“Since business is down, they have a lot more free time when it comes to clean up.”
The South San Francisco store accepts pickup orders by fax or by calling (650) 589-8916.

Burlingame pickup orders can be placed by fax or by calling (650) 697-8389.
Doordash is taking delivery orders for Little Lucca customers in South San Francisco and Burlingame.

Patch readers can keep track of businesses that are open and closed in their communities by viewing directories for South San Francisco and Burlingame.

If you own a business in Burlingame, we encourage you to add it to our directory at the bottom of this article.
South San Francisco business owners can do so by filling out the form at the bottom of this article.

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