Fremont’s first Ike’s Sandwiches offers a ‘Blond Bomber’ sandwich and new halal options

All sandwiches available for $7.97 until 9 tonight

Ike’s Love & Sandwiches has finally made it to the Bay Area’s fourth-largest city, Fremont, with new halal options for all of the meat sandwiches and two tribute sandwiches for this location.

Today’s grand-opening festivities include sandwiches priced at $7.97 all day long and selfies with founder Ike Shehadeh. Hours for this occasion have been extended to 9 p.m.

In keeping with the new-location tradition, Shehadeh and his team have come up with two exclusive sandwiches for Fremont:

— The “Wally Pond,” a tribute to the community leader who was the last living member of the original Fremont City Council, tops breaded eggplant with marinara sauce and provolone cheese. The city’s Irvington Community Center is also named in Pond’s honor.

— The “Blond Bomber” is named for professional wrestler Ray Stevens, who lived in Fremont. That sandwich combines halal chicken, Ike’s spicy wing sauce, honey and cheese.

And yes, Shehadeh knows of the Blond Bomber’s renown in the ring. “I used to be a big wrestling fan when I was younger,” he said.

Many East Bay and South Bay customers may frequent this Gateway Plaza location to take advantage of the ambitious new menu: This is the first Ike’s to offer all halal options. The chicken at Ike’s has always been halal, but now customers can pay $3 to upgrade to halal ingredients on any sandwich. That includes the fried chicken, salami, turkey ham, turkey, pastrami, roast beef, tuna, Philly steak and meatballs.

One such visitor drawn by the new offerings was Susie Jaber, who owns Susie’s Q’s Pizza in Hayward, and ordered a Menage a Trois, the saucy three-cheese number with halal chicken. “I’ve never been a deli kind of person,” she said, but the look and feel of the place won her over. ‘I love the little lunch boxes (as wall decor). It took me back.”

With her was Wafaa Akl, of Walnut Creek, who owns the Healing Touch Academy in San Ramon. She said she and her kids frequently stop at Ike’s locations throughout the Bay Area on their way to and from water polo meets.

Jaber talked with Ike about how challenging it is to source so many halal meats for pizza and sandwiches.

“We did have to taste-test a lot,” Ike said. “And it’s a lot more expensive.”

Will he expand the concept? That all depends on customer response, he said.

Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at Gateway Plaza (aka the Raley’s center), 39154 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont; www.ikessandwich.com