Owner Charles Leisse and his son, general manager and Nottingham High School graduate Chad Leisse, hold a few Fresh Works rolls, baked fresh throughout the day, Feb. 12, 2010. (Staff photo by Myles Ma.)
By Myles Ma
Charles Leisse has retired two times. In 2001, he retired from a career in the flavoring and food ingredients industry. In 2006, he retired from being a consultant to food companies.
The second time he thought it would finally take, envisioning spending time with his six grandchildren, improving on his golf game and going to Wildwood more often. But in January of 2008 he opened a Fresh Works franchise in Hamilton Square, which he now operates with his son.
“The kids started to become a pain in the ass, I didn’t get better at golf, I didn’t go to Wildwood,” Leisse, 67, said.
Now he applies his finely tuned palate, honed over years as part of his work, to his 2-year-old business. Leisse said he mostly uses his sense of smell and taste to make sure everything served meets a higher standard.
“Most things are edible, but it’s got to be better than edible,” he said.
That’s probably why the restaurant has become so popular in its two years, especially for students from Steinert High School, who descend on Fresh Works in hordes after the dismissal bell rings. The Steinert connection has been there since the store’s opening, since some its first employees were students at the high school.
Steinert students also helped invent one of Fresh Works’ most popular sandwiches, the Hamilton Banger, a half cheesesteak with mozzarella sticks, french fries and ketchup. The name is derived from the slang of Steinert kids, who would commonly refer to menu items as “bangin’,” as in, “These hoagies are bangin’!” or “These rolls are bangin’!”
Leisse said stuffed customers often compared the Banger favorably with the comparably decadent Fat Sandwiches at the Grease Trucks in New Brunswick. Leisse said the appeal of all Fresh Works’ sandwiches has a lot to do with the rolls, which are baked fresh all day, as often as every 10 to 15 minutes. “I don’t know how many times you go into a place and get a roll that was baked at four in the morning,” he said.
His son, Chad, said the food at Fresh Works was all prepared to order.
“To me, it’s a much better quality,” he said.
The rolls also probably helped Fresh Works’ cheesesteaks place third in a Best of Philly contest. Charles Leisse, who grew up in Philadelphia, attests to the quality of the cheesesteaks, and now eschews the cheesesteaks near his home in Hainesport in favor of the product he makes at work.
For grown ups who prefer healthier options, Leisse said Italian hoagies and turkey hoagies are popular choices. He said Mayor John Bencivengo comes in and orders the Italian.
The Fresh Works also has a number of catering options, which Leisse said many people took advantage of during the Super Bowl. The most common choice was a party tray featuring three types of hoagies, coupled with an order of wings featuring special sauce made onsite.
Leisse said he enjoyed serving food that people enjoyed, and working with his son, which he called a pleasure. Anyway, it beats retirement.
Fresh Works Hamilton Square is located in the Deer Path Pavillion at 3817 Crosswicks-Hamilton Square Road. For more information, call (609) 581-8884, or go online to thefreshworks.com.
