Salad season is upon us and for those who live in the Old Pueblo, this season starts early.   We have been ramping up production in our Baggin’s commissary due to the demands of our gourmet salads.

Nick Glauber, our food and beverage supervisor takes pride in the changes we have made to our standard salad mix.  “We have changed our garden salad mix base from a primarily iceberg lettuce to a much more vibrant mix of greener, healthier lettuce like romaine, spinach, arugula and mustard greens.”

Nick and his staff have even revamped our Thousand Island, Ranch, Caesar, Blue Cheese and Honey Mustard salad dressings so that we are making them entirely from scratch in our kitchens.  This truly is what gourmet is all about: high quality ingredients made fresh.   Our main kitchen builds an average of 225 salad bases nightly to be shipped out to our stores throughout Tucson.  Our high salad season starts now and Nick’s crew will clean, prep and ship upwards of 350 a day.

All of our veggies are bought through a local produce company.

Our newest location, Baggin’s Gourmet at the William Center, has added Gourmet salads in bread bowls.  These bowls are baked fresh daily in our store.  Come early and you can inhale that heavenly just-baked smell.   We are looking to add the bread bowl as an option possibly in future to a few of our other locations as well.

We have added a traditional Cobb salad to our menu at all of our stores which proves to be a best seller.  With many options at Baggin’s, you will find a salad that fits your craving.

Chicken Caesar salad

Asian Chicken Salad with a Thai Peanut dressing and pasta.

Gourmet Cobb

BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad

Almond Albacore Tuna Salad

Almond Chicken Salad

Our William Center includes the above salads in our gourmet breads bowls as well as these delicious salads:

Aunt Chucks Green Apple Salad

Cassidy’s BBQ Chicken Salad

Hope all of our favorite Baggin’s friends are well today!

We have had several customers call us about our specials and how to get them.  Apparently, her friend was texted a deal and she wanted to get it, too but she had only signed up for our emails thinking it would be the same.   They are not!  We will sometimes do specials that are exclusive to that platform.

We love chatting with you! Pick your platform.

We decided that we were going to have several different platforms to reach our customers because not all of us like to tweet or email or facebook.  We also decided that it would be redundant to give the same deals all across the board.   Here is the scoop on all the different ways to stay in touch with us.  Please feel free to share these with your sandwich-eating amigos.

Text messaging:  Text Baggins 72727         You can opt out at anytime and no more than 3 messages a month will be sent.

Email messages:   You can do that here.    You can opt out at anytime and no more than 3 messages a month will be sent.  You must allow emails from Constant Contact.

Facebook:   Friend us on facebook.     Here you can get all kinds of information, updates and deals.  We try to always answer any question or comment within 24 hours.

Twitter:       Tweet us your comments and concerns.  We will send out our updates and deals.  We try to always answer any question or comment within 24 hours as well.

Store locations:  Stores will run their own monthly specials.  You can contact your neighborhood store here for more information.

Foursquare:  Remember to check-in with us when you stop in for lunch.  Our deals will change periodically.

So pick your pleasure and we will see you soon!

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”  

~Robin Williams 

Did you know Baggin’s has gourmet lunch boxes?

They are one of the fun options we have in our Baggin’s catering department.  These boxes are perfect for tours, picnic lunches, or impressing that corporate client.  They can be customized with several different sandwich sizes, desserts and sides.   Each box is wrapped with our signature raffia and chili pepper to create that impressive lunch.

Gourmet Box Lunch by Baggin's

Our store managers are trained to help you order for your function or event.  They can help you get that exact look or feel by adding those personal touches

Box lunches need 24 hours advance notice.

Have a great day!

Don’t forget to sign up for our March deals through our email promotions here.  This month we will have a couple catering deals so don’t miss out.

Hello all you awesome Baggin’s peeps!

Hope this blog finds you well this fine day in March.

Have you ever noticed how there is always something on your ‘To-Do’ list that gets pushed to the bottom and maybe, even flat out ignored.  Well, that is how You-Tube has been for us.  We know we want to create a channel for Baggin’s and we know that this is important to us and to our customers.  Daily, I find an email or social media comment asking for tutorials or information on our sandwiches via video.   So, I got a wild hair this past weekend and searched Baggin’s and Tucson on YouTube.  I found ONLY one video that did not contain a Bilbo Baggins or a Lord of the Rings scene or content.  The one I did find was just a couple sitting in our Oracle and Orange Grove store enjoying a sandwich; simple yet genuis for us procrasinators at Baggin’s.  So, I thought maybe I need more inspiration for our videos by encouraging all of our customers to post their videos.   You can check out their video here:

Yummy Lunch Time at Baggin’s

So here is the contest part…….

Post your videos of you eating one of our sandwiches  at one of our stores or wherever you eat your Baggin’s sandwich or catering.   You must post the link to our facebook or twitter pages AND you must also email us at bagginsgourmet@hotmail.com to let us know you did it.  Please list your name and address and where we can find it.  Every entry will get a 15% off card and be entered to win our Lunch Party for 5 that we will announce in May.   The winning entry will be funny, creative and shows Baggin’s sandwiches and/or locations.  A Lunch Party for 5 is a catering service that requires 24 hours in advance notice.  It is sandwiches decorated with flowers and/or colorful tissue paper in a basket/platter with chips and a dessert platter for five  people similar to this:

Baggin's Basket Caterings.

  I can’t wait to see what you come up with.  

Good luck to you all! 

GOT PICKY EATERS?

Kids can eat healthy at Baggin's!

I think every parent has dealt with a picky eater or had a defiant child go through a picky eating phase when it comes to meal times.   Recently, my 4^th grader declared that she was going to be a vegetarian.

“I no longer want to eat animals”, she protested.

“You do realize that chicken nuggets are animals.”   My rebuttal did not phase her in the least.  In fact,here we are six months later and she is still vegetarian strong.  You would think that this would be a major change for this kiddo but it really has been more of an issue for me.  I am of the meat-eating variety and I have really struggled with finding fast easy foods for her to eat or foods that my entire family will eat that is healthy.  Just because it can be classified as vegetarian does not exactly mean healthy.  (“Isn’t sugar vegetarian?”)   She has learned a lot about where her food comes from and what it does in the body which means less fights at the dinner table for this family.  Getting her involved was key!

Check out a few resources that can be helpful for your picky eater: 

1)  Locally, the HealthyPima website, (funded from the Pima County health department)  has vasts amounts of information on getting your kids to eat and be healthy.  It is filled with links, articles and activities for parents and kids wanting to know more.

2)  Also, the MayoClinic has a great article on how to handle picky eaters.  It is all about perspective.  Having a child help with meal and snack preparations makes them feel like they have a little control which in turn gives parents a little peace of mind during meal times.

3)  Don’t forget to stop by any of our Baggin’s locations because Kids eat free February 25th and 26th, too!

So if you are looking to say NO to chicken nuggets this weekend, stop by any of our Baggin’s Gourmet Sandwich locations because KIDS eat FREE with an adult.  We have turkey, veggie, roast beef , ham and peanut butter options for your kids.  They can even get it without the sprouts!

Have a fantastic week!

Oh, and don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and Twitter to get great deals for your whole family.

Nothing is easier than saying words. Nothing is harder than living them day after day.”

— Arthur Gordon

Baggin's famous lil' chocolate chip cookie

Hope this blog finds you all still committed to your resolutions and goals.  And even if you were sidetracked, it’s time to revisit that vision you had for yourself.  Today is a new day.  It is those small steps that make big changes!

Last year, one of our goals was to revamp our outdated website so that we could provide better communication with our customers.  We are extremely pleased with how it turned out.  In fact, our goals this year are to add more functionality like on-line ordering and instant communication with our customers.

We know that we cannot do better without the input of our favorite customers.  With that, we have added more ways to communicate with us through our website via your favorite social media platforms or email.  You can check that out here.

We even started uploading our delicious sandwich pictures to our boards on Pinterest. We would love it if you started following us.  There is nothing better than oogling over all the delicious sandwich creations our customers put on their boards.

We are also getting ready to launch our Youtube channel where we will be posting videos about our employees, tutorials on how to make a great sandwiches or how to decorate a sandwich platter “Baggin’s style” and just showing you the main kitchen and locations behind the scenes.

We encourage you to drop us a quick line or note to let us know how we are doing.  You can do that here.

We will also be adding a few more ways to get great deals from your neighborhood store.

1)      We will be doing an email program where you can receive information and great discounts for the upcoming month through Constant Contact.  You can sign up for those email notes here on our home page.  We have some great specials coming in February so get on that list.

2)      We will be rolling out a text marketing program so you can get your deals via your cell phone.  Stay tuned how you can add yourself to this tech-savvy list.

3)      We will also continue with our spur of the moment social media deals through Facebook and Twitter.

4)      And occasionally, we will be offering Baggin’s specials through on-site Manager specials.  These are personally chosen by our neighborhood store managers.

Whatever way you choose to hang out with us, we thank you!  

An 'Unforgettable' thank you to all of our Baggin's customers!

We want to make sure all of our Baggin’s customers know our holiday hours coming up.   There is still time to pick up those last minute rum cakes, dessert platters and gift cards at your neighborhood store.   Here is the scoop:

Christmas Hours

December 23rd…. Friday              All stores open regular hours.

December 24th…. Saturday        Valencia/Country Club    CLOSED     Church/Pennington  CLOSED

                                                              Kolb/Speedway             9am to 3pm

                                                              All other stores  open 10am to 4 pm

December 25th…. Sunday            Closed.  Merry Christmas!

December 26th…. Monday         Valencia/Country Club    CLOSED    Church/Pennington          CLOSED

All other stores open regular hours

New Year’s Hours

December 30th…. Friday                 All stores open regular hours

December 31st….  Saturday             Valenica/Country   CLOSED    Church/Pennington      CLOSED

                                                                              All other stores open 10am to 4pm

January 1st… Sunday                           All stores CLOSED.  Happy New Year!

We want to extend a very happy holiday season to all of our loyal customers.  We appreciate that you have many choices in the marketplace these days and we are honored you choose us for our high quality gourmet sandwiches and catering.  Please check back with us at our blog and social sites to find deals, specials and happenings coming in 2012.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens

How does lunch for you and two of your best lunch buddies sound?  

The Unforgettable Sandwich

Please comment below on what was your favorite Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzza or Winter Solstice (Did I cover everyone?) gift you EVER received and why.   For extra points, please ‘like’, tweet or +1 any of our website pages.  We will randomly pick on Friday, December 9th.

Tis the season to PARRRRTAAAAYYYY! 

It is so nice to be invited to these fun functions but we often stress more after the invitation arrives.   Once we figure out what to wear, what do we bring those  hostess’ with the mostess’ that are doing all that dirty party work?

Here is a list that might be helpful for you in the next coming months.  These are merely suggestions from your local neighborhood Baggin’s as well as local businesses like us in the Old Pueblo.   Please remember to support your local mom-and-pop shops this season.

*       Baggin’s delicious rum cake or carrot cake   We make all of our delicious whole  cakes fresh in our kitchen daily.  It is wrapped in a box to-go with our signature raffia and chili pepper.  $15.00 Call your neighborhood store for details.

Baggin's delicious whole rum cake $15.00

*        Baggin’s sinful dessert platter   All of your favorite desserts from our stores on one sweet platter.  Our famous chocolate chip cookies, chocoholic brownies, carrot cake bites and sliced rum cake that will serve 8-10 lucky folks.   Call your neighborhood manager for your perfect arrangement.

Sinful dessert platter $15.00

After you get your fill on all of our Baggin’s treats, these are a few local gifts that all party hostess’ would love.

*         Unique Christmas ornaments and decorations from the  Seasoned Woman gift store.  They have many under $20.00 that are simple and perfect for a hostess gift.  And they will wrap it up in their cute whimsical  bags ready to go.

*          A true Tucson secret is the jewelry from Susan Scholl Smith.   Get your hostess a beautiful red bracelet for this season.  She has many pieces for any budget.  Check her out here:  Jewelry by Susan

*           Tis really the season for sparkling wine from the Rum Runner.   Check out their charming store off of Speedway  for an amazing selection.  They also gift wrap on the “house”.

*         Chili Ristra or green pine wreath from Brian and Kelly’s stand on Broadway and Rosemont.  Their stands are always fun to visit.

*        For a traditional idea, how about a champagne stopper or wine accessories at Table Talk.  They have everything for that perfect tablescape,too.

We wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season.  

“As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December’s bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same.”
– Donald E. Westlake

Holidays are coming up right around the corner.   We wanted to give you a heads up on what stores will be open and when.

Thursday….   November 24th                                All stores will be closed on Thanksgiving.

Friday …..      November 25th     

2741 E Speedway         10am to 4pm

1800 E Ft. Lowell          10am to 4pm

6342 N Oracle                 regular hours

33 N Stone                        closed

5420 E Broadway          regular hours

3191 E Valenica              10 am to 4pm

11015 N. Oracle              regular hours

7233 E Speedway          9 am to 3pm

Saturday November 26th                                        3191 E Valencia                 Closed

All other stores– regular hours.

Hope you all have a fantastic holiday!

P.S.     You would not believe how many people show up the day after Thanksgiving and order a Sundown sandwich.  =)