Cutty's Sandwich Shop Is Expanding Its Space in Brookline

A small sandwich shop in Brookline Village known for its locally sourced ingredients and killer sandwiches (and an encounter with Guy Fieri) is on the move to expansion after launching a Kickstarter campaign to push into the space next door. The owners of Cutty's, Charles and Rachel Kelsey, announced the goal of expansion on Twitter, posting a link to their Kickstarter page.

"Our tiny shop is expanding to make more room for our awesome customers and more kitchen space for us to create tasty sandwiches," the owners wrote on the page.

Cutty's opened in 2010 in a small 16-seat storefront on Washington Street. It serves handcrafted sandwiches and cookies, and for a time it was the home of Bagelsaurus (now in its own space in Cambridge's Porter Square). The Kelseys put together a video for Kickstarter to explain the expansion, citing a "message from the future" — a voicemail they received from a husky voice, claiming people of the future needed their famous Roast Beef 1000 sandwich as fuel for rocket packs.

"Now our future has changed," Charles Kelsey said in the video. The Kelseys have signed a lease to expand next door and are using the Kickstarter campaign to fund the streamlining of Cutty's traffic flow — with an entrance and exit door — and any new equipment needed to expand the menu as well.

Donors to the Kickstarter campaign will get rewards like bumper stickers, hats, t-shirts, and gift certificates. The team is hoping to raise $30,000 by Halloween to supplement a bank loan and the personal savings that the Kelseys are putting into the project.

Update: With this expansion, Cutty's will add about 600 square feet of space to the existing shop, with more room for dining, kitchen space, refrigeration, and equipment, said owner Rachel Kelsey.

"Ideally, we begin working maybe in November. And we're going to try to stay open as much as we can," she said. Cutty's is working with a contractor to avoid shutting down for too long, and is already hiring additional staff for the expansion.

Kelsey said they launched the Kickstarter campaign October 1 and as of Friday morning had more than $2,000 pledged. As for the mystery voicemail in the Kickstarter video, Kelsey said, "we're hoping maybe the person who left it will come forward now."