Harrison Downing is very particular about how a sandwich should be made.

“The whole sandwich should be balanced. Everything is placed where it is for a reason,” Downing explained. “The pickled item needs to be on the bottom. The acid cuts through everything in the sandwich, making that the best way to start the bite.”

One bite, and you see exactly what he is talking about.

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Downing’s sandwiches are a work of art. Every ingredient is perfectly layered, and the sandwiches are wrapped tightly in deli paper and then sliced in half, showing off the goodness inside.

His attention to detail in constructing a humble sandwich is inspiring. And when Hard Times Deli officially opens on Tuesday, Feb. 18, Memphis will get to taste for themselves the sandwiches that Downing thought we were missing.

Hard Times Deli is the latest venture from the trio behind local smash burger pop-up the Secret Smash Society: Downing, Cole Jeanes and Schuyler O’Brien.

Hard Times Deli, as Downing put it, will be a culmination of “everything we think is cool.”

Downing is in the role of executive sandwich artist at the new deli. O’Brien, who works for City Silo, and Jeanes, who is the chef and proprietor of Kinfolk, are also contributing their culinary talents. 

While the menu includes sandwiches such as a hot Buffalo chicken Caesar and a cold turkey bacon ranch, don’t let the names fool you. Hard Times’ versions will be nothing like what you have eaten before. 

Downing approaches each sandwich from the lens of fine dining.

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“We are taking our fine dining background and putting it into food people can eat every day,” Downing said. 

According to O’Brien, a sandwich “is a perfect vessel for a dish.”

The Buffalo chicken Caesar sandwich starts with a marinated and breaded chicken fried schnitzel-style. Downing has created his own Buffalo sauce, which he calls “Country Time Buffalo sauce” because he sweetens it with Country Time Lemonade powder.

“It makes the Buffalo sauce more bright and acidic,” he said.

The sandwich is finished off with Romaine lettuce hearts, Parmesan cheese, sour pickles — on the bottom, of course — and Kinfolk’s miso Caesar dressing.

Hard Times Deli will smoke all of its meats in-house, from turkey breasts to roast beef to bacon. Even the tuna loins for the base of the deli’s 30A tuna salad sandwich will be done in-house.

Harrison thinks the cold turkey bacon ranch sandwich will be a top seller.

“We are making a bacon that is really smoky, like Benton’s bacon. We start with pork bellies from Home Place Pastures,” Downing said. 

And the buttermilk ranch on the turkey sandwich is just one example of the many from-scratch sauces Hard Times is making for its sandwiches.

“Think of it as classic deli sandwiches we put some of our weird twists on,” Downing added.

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The trio will also source local ingredients when possible. All beef and pork items will come from Home Place Pastures in Como, Mississippi. Josh Steiner at Hive Bagel & Deli will be baking the deli’s bread fresh daily.

To help with all the prep work and behind-the-scenes cooking that goes into an endeavor like this, Downing has also brought on a team of what he calls “heavy-hitters.”

“We have real chefs in our kitchen,” Downing said.

The heavy-hitters include Cody Boswell, Kevin Gibson and Bailey Patterson, all of whom have worked in some of Memphis’ top restaurants.

The deli’s main menu is fairly small, with just 10 sandwiches and a few salads.

But O’Brien said to expect “cool chef-driven specials” to pop up on the menu often.

Jeanes said the restaurant is the first step in several concepts that the trio has in mind.

“The goal is for us to establish a restaurant group,” he said, adding that Kinfolk would become part of the new joint venture. “Everyone knows that margins are so slim, and the pennies can add up if we have savings from economy of scale.”

And if you're curious about the famous smash burger that brought these chefs together as a culinary team is on the menu, the answer, according to Downing, is “sort of.”

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“The SSS chopped cheese is everything that’s on the smash burger, but it’s a chopped cheese.”

Hard Times Deli, located at 655 Marshall Ave., will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays. 

A grand opening celebration is planned for Friday, Feb. 21, and includes a pop-up from Slowdown Dry Goods in the adjacent retail space.