Brady Street’s ultimate sandwich shop serves up mega portions of healthy food

Photos by Cherrie Hanson

Co-owners and longtime friends, Adham Awadalla and Wael Elsayed combine their skills and strengths for their first restaurant partnership.

The gourmet, halal sub sandwiches of Megawich – The Ultimate Sandwich are a welcome addition to the hip, bustling culture of Milwaukee’s East Side. Opened in the summer of 2023, the athletic-themed restaurant located at 1426 E. Brady St. offers a menu of cravings, where “the flavors of the East meet the style of the West,” serving up large portions of quality, protein-rich food. Catering to college students and the late night scene on Brady street, they are open until midnight Monday through Thursday and weekends until 3 a.m.

Owners and longtime friends Adham Awadalla and Wael Elsayed have designed Megawich to become a franchise and open up more locations internationally. “It’s built to be in food courts in airports, to be found when you’re in transit,” Awadalla explains. “It will work anywhere, pretty much, because it’s got diverse flavors and doesn’t cater to one demographic.”

Located in a strip mall on the east end of Brady Street, Megawich serves fast, yet high quality comfort food with locally sourced bread from Peter Sciortino’s Bakery.

Elsayed has a background in marketing and business administration, but he also has a passion for food and cooking. “I thought it would be a good idea to put those skills together,” he affirms, after many long hours of studying recent trends of the restaurant market.

Awadalla had already owned several retail and real estate businesses when Elsayed approached him about opening Megawich. He contends that had Elsayed not asked him, he probably would have never entered the restaurant business.

“The partnership is administrative because of the experience I have with other businesses and knowing the system and being here for a long time. Wael handles the operation and is more hands-on with the kitchen.”

The restaurant decor, name and mascot were deliberately designed for the concept to be replicated at future locations.

As one steps inside Megawich, they are immediately greeted on the right by an imposing mural of the red, muscular restaurant mascot, Mega the bull. Following the athletic theme, Mega dons a tank top with a dumbbell in his hand.

Elsayed likes being on Brady Street because it is an epicenter for neighborhood nightlife, and the restaurant’s late hours bring in lots of hungry customers on the weekends. “We like the people here,” he affirms. “It’s diverse and has people from everywhere.”

Awadalla remembers, “I went to UWM for my Master’s program and never had time to do anything, so I wanted to get a sandwich or something healthy, but I wouldn’t be able to get anything when I would get that craving at like one in the morning. This is one of the urges to have a place that can target healthy food, and it’s not just the traditional stuff. It will last if you put it in the fridge and eat it later.”

Co-owner Wael Elsayed enjoys the neighborhood’s nightlife and the diversity of people Brady street businesses draw to the area.

Both men are originally from Egypt, and they wanted their menu to reflect American food with an Egyptian twist. As such, a number of Megawich sandwiches are made with tahini, olive oil, garlic sauce and different herbs and spices popular in Awadalla and Elsayed’s home country. Most of their sandwiches have a signature dressing, and all sauces are made from scratch.

Megawich sources their bread from Peter Sciortino Bakery down the street. Their top selling sandwiches are the first three – the Chicken Catcher, the Chicken Power Lifter, and the Beef Pitcher. Further down the menu are several burgers, including a plant-based one. The Mega Crunchy is made with fried chicken tenders, the Shrimp Striker contains grilled shrimp topped with cilantro, and the Hot Dog Shooter consists of sliced frankfurters grilled with onions and peppers.

The Turkey Jumper is the sole cold sandwich on the menu, made with smoked turkey breast, provolone cheese and a dash of oregano. “We introduced it probably after one year,” Awadalla notes. “I had people ask me, especially when I would go to the bank, if we had a cold sandwich. It’s a nice lunch item; it’s a little lighter so that you can move on with your day and not shut down.”

Megawich also offers bowl options, which contain all the same ingredients as the sandwiches sans bread. On the side are several options for fries, including the loaded Cheesy Beef Flex Fries, as well as huge brownies and baklava for those with a sweet tooth.

Several catering packages are available as well, with their largest one able to feed up to 50 people. As part of a deal with Amazon, Megawich serves food to workers in their warehouses twice a week.

“We’re trying to open more locations, especially in Brookfield, South Milwaukee and maybe northern Wisconsin,” Awadalla mentions. “We’re trying to delegate franchisees, because Wael and I cannot be everywhere at the same time.”

If one signs up to become a “Megawicher,” they may rack up points for discounts on subsequent orders. To note, if college students show their identification at Megawich, they receive free chips and soda with their meal.