Ike's Place May Open a Burger, Pizza, and Ice Cream Joint in the Mission

The mad sandwich artists of Ike's Place have been expanding all over the Bay Area and beyond, with founder and Star Wars aficionado Ike Shehadeh leading the charge from Santa Rosa all the way down to Monterey (as well as L.A. and Arizona). But for the first time, Ike's may be shaking up its formula. According to Inside Scoop, Shehadeh is weighing the idea of opening a restaurant focused on burgers, pizza, and ice cream, and has almost completed a deal for a space on Mission between 19th and 20th (a block that's blowing up these days, with Buffalo Club and Gashead Tavern having already joined the party in the past six months).

The restaurant would be called Ike's Burgers, and would feature creative takes on patties, as well as 2-3 flavors of housemade ice cream. (Ike's served both in its early days in the Castro, before focusing exclusively on sandwiches.) Shehadeh says he's passionate about pizza, and is thinking of recreating some of his favorite sandwich combos in pie form, up to and including mozzarella sticks as a topping. It's possible that the location may end up becoming a regular old Ike's, but he's leaning towards pursuing a new angle, especially to give the neighborhood an affordable option—everything will be $8-12. Should he go in that direction, Ike's Burgers will debut by the end of 2015.

Meanwhile, the latest Ike's lease has been signed in Emeryville (in the new Hollis@Powell development), and Shehadeh is working on new locations in Palo Alto, Daly City, and Concord's Willows Shopping Center, all of which are set to arrive by year's end. Outside of the Bay, Austin and Seattle are being considered for expansions as well.