Watch out, Famous #8. A new Artichoke Sandwichbar sandwich is coming for you.
The Artichoke Sandwichbar has long been known for its most popular sandwich — The Famous #8.
The sandwich, which in its earliest days was known as the Nancy’s #8 (after former Artichoke co-owner and sandwich inventor Nancy Parrish), features turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, cream cheese, lettuce and tomato topped with Italian dressing and served on an onion hoagie. It’s by far The Artichoke’s most popular sandwich, said co-owner Uche Onwugbufor.
Now, though, it’s getting a little competition: a new sandwich being served only at the downtown Artichoke Sandwichbar location that has been named “Famous #9.”
Though it was introduced on Tuesday and therefore has not had enough time to properly earn the “famous” part of its name, it’s showing promise, Onwugbufor said.
“We’ve done a meatball sub. We’ve done a chicken salad. We did quesadillas for a while,” Onwugbufor said of new food items he’s recently introduced. “Nothing has gone off like this thing has.”
The Famous #9 features turkey with cranberry cream cheese, Havarti cheese, lettuce and tomato topped with a balsamic glaze and served on a wheat hoagie. Onwugbufor describes it as “delish.”
He said that he and his staff were at the restaurant one day discussing what to name the new sandwich.
“We’re going back and forth, and we think we have it. Then one of our regulars sitting at the bar said, ‘Why don’t you just call it the Number Nine?’ And we’re like, ‘Oh. Um. Oh,’” he said with a laugh.
Legend has it, Onwugbufor said, that the Famous #8 got its name because Parish was trying to make the perfect sandwich for a certain customer. She tried seven versions, and on her eight attempt, the customer was finally satisfied.
The Famous #9 is technically a limited-time-only offering, but Onwugbufor said it should be available for a couple of months at least.
The downtown Artichoke is at 811 N. Broadway. There’s also an east-side location at 2959 N. Rock Road, but it’s not carrying the Famous #9.
This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 1:34 PM.
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