The latest addition to Erbert and Gerbert’s (E&G’s) menu was inspired by a UNI alum’s memories from college, and now students today can have a taste of those experiences.

Today, E&G will introduce patrons to the Campy Neil — a UNI exclusive sandwich, created by Rod Library assistant Melissa Gevaert. The unveiling will be at 10:30 a.m. and will feature free samples of the sandwich, which contains chicken breast, cherrywood smoked bacon, provolone cheese, pesto mayo, lettuce, pickles, olive oil and vinegar.

The first 35 customers who purchase the sandwich will receive a free t-shirt featuring the Campy Neil logo, which was designed by a UNI marketing student. Gevaert will also be recognized as the sandwich’s creator.

The process of building this exclusive sandwich started last year when Maucker Union Food Court Assistant Retail Manager Dawnell Johnson discussed with E&G the possibility of a campus sandwich.

Other campuses were already serving sandwiches exclusive to their E&G university locations. Although it was too short notice to begin the process last fall, in the Spring 2017 semester the UNI location of E&G sought a name for their special sandwich. 

“We did a couple different ways to find names,” Johnson said. “We ended up polling some people just in the area [with] a list of names we’d come up with. And so, the Campy Neil was created.”

With the name chosen, E&G designed a virtual program for designing and submitting sandwiches online for the contest. This is when Gevaert heard about the competition via email. She started playing around with different sandwich ideas, basing her creation off of what she would typically build at a deli.

Of all the sandwich ideas that were submitted, E&G sent around 15 back to UNI. The staff then made their nine favorites and selected the top three from there.

“[We] picked the three that we thought [were] best, that would best fit into our menu as well — something that maybe we don’t have on the menu was what we were looking for,” said Johnson.

These top three made the sampling cut. By this point, Gevaert had forgotten all about the contest. She was reminded of her submission when she received an email saying that her sandwich was a finalist.

“I [sent] an email to the whole library, saying, ‘Hey! We can have an official Rod Library sandwich. Go vote for it!’” Gevaert recalled.

Voting was conducted via ballot boxes at the Department of Residence and Maucker Union Food Court. Over 400 votes were cast.

For Gevaert, the sandwich exemplifies UNI because it reminds her of her own time as a university student. A 2009 graduate with a degree in the study of world religion, Gevaert used to get sandwiches with friends from the 23rd St. Market. This was before E&G opened on the campus.

“My best friends and I would get lunch every single day, and I started getting pickles on my sandwich. And one day he’s like, ‘Oh, that’s weird — but I’ll try it. And ever since then he’s like ‘You’re right. They need to be on a sandwich,’” Gevaert said. “So, it kind of reminds me of when my friends and I went to UNI.”

Through Gevaert’s sandwich design, the past and present meet to create a new UNI-only sandwich.