The Sando Truck Brings the Ubiquitous Japanese Katsu Sandwich to the Funk Zone

Nicholas Gillio unveils The Sando Truck in a parking lot on East Yanonali Street in September. “I just wanted to keep it very traditional.”

Nicholas Gillio, owner and operator of The Sando Truck, is bringing a taste of Japan to the Funk Zone with his authentic katsu sandwiches. Gillio, whose mother is from Yokohama City, was born in Japan and lived there for his first two weeks before returning to Santa Barbara. He visited Japan every four years or so, and even attended a month of kindergarten there. Those trips introduced him to the katsu sandwich, an ubiquitous snack in Japan, sold from convenience store shelves to subway station vendors for quick, on-the-go eating. Gillio has long wished for a greater variety of classic Asian cuisine in Santa Barbara — “I wish there was a yakitori spot,” he mused — and saw an opportunity to bring us a dedicated katsu service. Gillio started in hospitality as a bellman at the Hotel Palomar in San Diego in 2011, eventually becoming an assistant manager in The Rowan in Palm Springs before moving home to work at El Encanto and, briefly, the Alisal Ranch. His latest post was as opening manager of The Drift Hotel on State Street in the summer of 2022, where he also oversaw the Dawn Cafe and Dusk Craft Bar. He left Drift in May, and dove into the research, reading and watching as many YouTube videos about katsu as he could find. He determined that making the menu tight, the recipes straightforward, and the ingredients high-quality were the keys to doing it right. Gillio uses Mary’s Chickens and pork from Ideal Meats. But the main ingredients weren’t even his biggest concern. “The bread was the most important thing for me,” said Gillio, who hunted down a preferred producer of Japanese milk bread called shokupan. He cuts off the crust and then fries that to make uber-fresh panko to crust the flattened meat. He currently buys the tonkatsu sauce, but would one day like to develop his own, and is also crafting large-format to-go boxes so that companies can purchase 20 sandwiches to share with the office. The pork or chicken sandos are sold in three- or six-packs. “I think of three as a snack and six as a meal,” said Gillio, and they are quite filling despite their demure appearance. Rounding out the menu is recently added chicken karaage and an airy potato salad made by his mom, who you might find helping out inside the truck. Gillio will start selling an egg salad option as well, debuting that at the finale of the Santa Barbara Half-Marathon on November 3. There are also chips, sweets, and drinks, and he’s planning more specials too, like sushi rolls and the fried rice balls called yaki onigiri. Gillio knows that it may take time to attract a steady Santa Barbara audience. “Right now, it’s about educating the customer,” he said. But those who’ve been to Japan don’t need those lessons, like the one woman who lived there for four years and now stops by The Sando Truck frequently. “This reminds me of Japan,” she told him. “This reminds me of getting out of the train station in Nara.” That was music to his ears. Said Gillio, “That’s exactly what I want.”