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R & D's Sandwich finds new place to park photo by Jim Craven By Sara Murphy People used to tell Ron and Dorene Hall they would�ve stopped by for a sandwich if they knew where to park. Or if they knew they could find an open seat at one of the three tables at R & D�s Sandwich Factory. Problem solved: About a month ago, the sandwich shop moved to a new building with seats for 40 and plenty of parking. "We wanted a place for people to bring their families, sit down and eat a good sandwich," Dorene says. Sitting down just wasn�t a possibility for most folks buying sandwiches at the shop�s previous location, on Riverside Avenue across from the Rogue Valley Mall. Company name: R & D�s Sandwich Factory. Product/service: Hot and cold sandwiches, soup and salad. Catered party platters available; no delivery. Location: 1132 N. Riverside Ave., Medford. Phone: 776-0988. Phone orders accepted. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Owners/managers: Ron and Dorene Hall. Employees: Four, including owners. Of interest: Cruise night every third Saturday, weather permitting. Food service from 5 to 8 p.m. "Car talk" meeting begins at 8 p.m. "It was a telephone booth," Dorene jokes. "We were short on parking, short on seating," Ron says. "We had people who said, �I would�ve stopped but it was too busy.� "We only had three tables." For nearly four years, those three tables and nine chairs served to get the Halls established in Medford. But there was no air conditioning, and customers could never be sure they�d get a seat. "We used to go there, but there was no parking and one umbrella to sit under," says Mary Harsh, a regular customer from Central Point. "You�d stand out the door to wait in line." Still, Harsh says she wasn�t sure what to expect when she heard the shop was moving to 1132 N. Riverside Ave., a building that was topped by a huge coffee pot in the 1930s and has since held everything from a strip bar to a Mexican restaurant. "I had visions of this old dingy, shacky looking place and if you just painted it, well," she pauses. "It�s beautiful in there and plenty of room." The name � which fans have dubbed "radical and delicious," though the R & D really stands for Ron and Dorene � and the fare haven�t changed. It�s still soup, salad and sandwiches by the inch. "Four inches is ample for a lady to sit down and eat a real good meal," Harsh says. The Sandwich Factory�s turkey, she says, is as good as any she�s had. And you can bet Harsh has seen plenty of sandwiches in her 89 years. "Dorene makes the best tapioca pudding in the valley," Harsh adds. Ron and Dorene Hall have been in the sandwich business for nearly 20 years, married for 35 and working in restaurants even longer. It�s in their blood, Dorene says. "Instead of sitting at a desk, looking at a drab wall, we like to talk to people," Ron adds. At the new shop, Ron is combining his love for people with his love for antique autos, like his fire-engine red 1940 Ford pickup. Every third Saturday, weather permitting, the Halls plan to open the sandwich shop in the evening to create a sort of cruise-car central. "As far as Medford goes, there�s not really any place around here that has the facilities for that," Ron says. People who own classic cars, he says, like to sit where they can see their wheels. The Halls feel their sandwich shop, with a row of parking right along Riverside Avenue, will be just the place. That plan has helped quash the couple�s concerns that people wouldn�t stop at the new shop because it�s not as visible as their old location. "That�s probably our biggest deterrent � we�re set back from the street," Ron says. "But then again," Dorene adds, "it�s one of our biggest benefits. We have visible parking." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA