Gus’s is returning! What new owners have planned for the SLO institution
At the corner of Osos and Leff streets, a once-beloved San Luis Obispo icon has sat shrouded under paper-lined windows for close to a year.
But behind the fading sign in the window declaring it “SLO’s best” with the “freshest flavors,” something new is cooking.
The vacant Gus’s Grocery, officially under new management, is getting a makeover as the new and improved Gus’s Deli, co-owner Anna Brannen confirmed to The Tribune in a recent interview.
At the top of their list? Bringing the beloved sandwich shop back to its former glory.
“We are really looking forward to bringing the positive energy and the happiness back into that space and adding to the happiness in SLO,” she said. “We are really excited and proud to be a part of that.”
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Gus’s has nearly 90 years of history in SLO
Prior to its closure early last year, Gus’s Grocery was a longstanding fixture in San Luis Obispo’s Old Town Historic District.
A market has stood at that corner since the 1930s, though a slew of grocers have called it home even longer than that, according to Tribune files.
Over the years, the location has gone by a number of names. But in 1989, Ellen Stanton and Jack Feliciano bought what was then called Aldo’s and brought the market and deli back to its roots.
“Everybody knew it as Gus’s Corner Market from the 1930s and ‘40s,” Stanton told The Tribune in a 2007 article. So that’s what they renamed it.
Over the years, Gus’s Grocery grew into a beloved spot to grab a deli sandwich and a beer — a place where very little changed even as its clientele switched among college students, families in the neighborhood and old-timers gathering on the patio.
“Maybe Gus’s should be declared a protected restaurant site, because most of this town’s funky college institutions have gone away,” a 1998 Telegram-Tribune profile of the business read. “How many here now remember getting Robot Burgers at The Darkroom? Or the $1.95 soup and muffin dinner special at Shady Grove? Or spud night at The Cigar Factory? But Gus’s — it’s still there.”
In recent years however, the sandwich shop fell on harder times as it struggled with COVID-era regulations, owner debt and a now somewhat infamous health department inspection that docked the restaurant for “a very obvious rodent infestation” that included both live and dead rats, as well as urine and feces.
At the time, then-owner Shannon Koester told The Tribune the sandwich shop was facing potential closure unless its money issues could be resolved.
By early 2025, the restaurant had quietly shut down for good.
Who are new owners of SLO sandwich shop?
Anna and husband Nick Brannen have had a lot of time to think about what exactly they would do with the neighborhood institution, even before its untimely closure.
Both moved to San Luis Obispo in the early 2000s before meeting and starting dating in 2006, Anna said.
“All of our friends, all of us, have just been going to Gus’s, you know, forever,” she said. “When we got engaged, we actually lived across the street, and we were there probably every day.”
Fast forward a few years and moves later, and the pair returned to the neighborhood and began raising a family there — with Gus’s playing a central role.
“It really, you know, has been an institution in our family, just like it has to so many,” she said. “So when we started seeing it decline, we kept talking about it like, ‘Man, what would we do?’”
Then the opportunity came.
“When it finally was fully vacant, we, you know, shot our shot, and we were able to get in and secure a lease,” Anna said. “And we are very, very, very excited to be able to bring this legendary space back to life and really just give it kind of the respect that everybody wants for it.”
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What’s planned for reopening SLO sandwich shop?
After assuming the lease for the shop in October, the Brannens have been working to get it up to opening standards.
In mid-March, Anna said the building permitting process was nearly complete and after that renovations would begin soon after.
Longtime fans need not worry — the vibe of the new deli is expected to stay true to that of the original shop.
“We are not intending on changing a lot of the structure, but we are intending on taking this 100-year-old-building up to date, up to code, and have it be clean and healthy and safe,” Anna said. “So that way, when we are operating, we get really good quality product back in there, and everybody can start having their their great memories and rebuilding those new memories with their groups of friends and families.”
The menu will also stay close to the familiar with a plethora of sandwiches, she said, though it will have more options for diners with food sensitivity and allergies as several members of the Brannen family have celiac disease.
Employees will be trained to prevent cross-contamination between food and equipment, making it safe for gluten-free or vegan diners.
“It’s really not that challenging to do if you know what you’re doing,” Anna said.
The quest to finalize the menu and keep the wide range of options for all types of diners has also resulted in some promising local partnerships with vendors like Salty Bagel, which makes gluten-free bagels.
The Brannens also routinely take to social media to share their journey as they taste test and figure out other local items to add to the menu, from beers and ciders to, of course, the bread.
If all goes as planned, the new Gus’s should be ready to open by late summer, Anna said.
Once it does, she’s hoping the community will turn out to support the longstanding local institution — and if at that point there are any questions or concerns about the business, she is ready to hear them.
“We want people to know that, as the new owners, we intend on making sure that this is long-term going to be successful,” she said. “We want to again, bring happy back to SLO, and we look forward to benefiting our community, because we love everybody here.”
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