Last month, Paulo Sausage Co. finally launched its first brick and mortar selling specialty sausages, meatballs, lasagnas, pasta sauces, and mouth-watering sandwiches in Pittsburg.
It was the culmination of a five-year journey for a husband-and-wife duo who sacrificed their careers to pour everything into their homemade sausage.
“It’s a hustle and a grind, but that was always the goal, to find a home base where we can produce for farmers markets and be open for the public,” says Jena Paulo. “We wanted a small storefront with the capacity in the kitchen to produce lots more sausage, and we found the perfect location in Pittsburg.”
It all started when Ronnie Paulo got a gift card to Bass Pro Shops and decided to use it on a sausage stuffer and meat grinder in 2019.
“Then he started messing around,” Jena says. “He’s always been a good cook. He likes bold flavors. And he started to share it with friends and family. The main reason he wanted to try sausage was because he could never find a hot Italian sausage that was hot enough or had enough fennel flavor. He messed with his own. His friends and family tried it and were like, ‘you’re onto something.’”
Ronnie’s love of spice and bold flavors helped the sausages become a hit at farmers markets. Soon the Paulos realized they had a strong base of loyal customers.
All the while, Ronnie was working 70-hour weeks as an engineer. In 2023, he decided to quit that full-time career to focus on sausage. It didn’t take long before Jena, a digital marketer, realized he needed help.
So she quit her job, too, and soon they were spending every day together, making as much sausage as they could and selling them at 14 Bay Area farmer markets.
“Most people would get sick of seeing their significant other 24/7,” says Jena. “There’s hardly any time we’re apart. But I think our personalities just jive so well together. He’s good at what he’s good at, and I’m good at what I’m good at.”
The Paulos saved enough money to invest in bigger equipment capable of producing a lot more sausages. They bought bigger stuffers, a mixer and, last month, moved it all into their small storefront in Pittsburg, where they make enough sausages to sell them in the store and at the Livermore, Brentwood, Martinez and Vacaville farmers markets.
But the star of the show has become their sandwiches. They partnered with nearby Rustic Culture Sourdough Co. so those hand-crafted sandwiches are made on fresh-baked bread.
The Italian Dip sandwich, featuring a blend of Italian pork and beef sausage, sautéed onions, roasted garlic and mushrooms, topped with melted Swiss cheese and served with a side of au jus for dipping, has been a huge hit as “an homage to a Chicago Dip,” Jena says. “And our sandwiches are humongous.”
Paulo Sausage Company is serving up fresh sausage sandwiches at its new brick and mortar in Pittsburg (Photo by Gregory Drakhler, Paulo Sausage Company).
On the sausage side, the hazy jalapeño cheddar, mixed with IPA beer and roasted jalapeños, and the blueberry maple breakfast sausages are hot sellers.
“What’s in common with everything we do is very bold flavors,” she says. “The flavors are not shy. People really appreciate that.”
And with Jena’s background in digital marketing, the company’s social media presence has helped create a huge fan base of customers who have begun frequenting the sandwich shop.
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“Pittsburg is very loyal and excited we’re here,” she says. “It’s a big Italian community. Everybody is telling everybody about us.”
Look for holiday specials and large-batch family-size orders to come … and more sandwich shops.
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and until 3 p.m. on weekends at 2951 Harbor St. in Pittsburg; paulosausageco.com.
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Paulo Sausage Company sausages, which can be found at local farmer markets and at a new brick and mortar in Pittsburg (Photo by Sera Henning, Paulo Sausage Company).
