Gov. Sherrill Chops Cheese At New Bergen County Sandwich Shop

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Gov. Mikie Sherrill has gone from flying a chopper to chopping cheese, as she recently stopped into a new sandwich shop in Bergen County to highlight small businesses.

Sherrill has been touring shops with local owners, and "The Chapped Cheese" more than fits the bill.

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Owner Basit Ahmed, who works in corporate health care and hails from Saddle Brook, took a chance and opened the new Hackensack spot last spring, betting that other people would like unique Pakistani sandwiches as much as he does.

The Chapped Cheese opened in Hackensack on April 4.

"I like to say this is a cousin of a cheesesteak, who met a girl from Pakistan and had a baby," he told Patch in a recent interview.

He said that chopped cheese is a staple of Pakistani cooking.

The shop also offers kebabs, wings, and fries.

"We marinate everything in the house," he told Patch. "We grind our own meat. It's premium Halal quality beef. We use boneless chicken thighs. We season them."

He said that he was glad that Sherrill picked his business to stop into. (Sherrill recently highlighted another Bergen County spot, White Manna hamburgers.)

He said that before the World Cup game this summer, he filled out a form to be involved in celebrations. He said the details probably inspired Sherrill's team to pick his location as a stop.

"She even made her own sandwich," he said.

He said that business has been coming along.

"We're just getting started," he said. "Being a first-time business owner,a first generation Pakistani American, it's awesome to see. I don't come from money. Everything I've done, I've done myself."

'Living His Dream'

He said that in fall, the restaurant ran a back-to-school giveaway.

"I remember begging my mom and dad to get me staples, notebooks, stuff from the Dollar Store," he said. "It's nice to be in that position [to help]."

He said he runs the business with his friend and brother-in-law. "My brother works here," he said. "My wife works here. It's a family business, at the end of the day."

He added, "This is just a guy living his dream right now."

New Sherrill Initiative

Sherrill's team posted a video on social media of her visit.

"I love it that you guys did this," she said, "because it's so New Jersey."

This past Tuesday, Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that she had signed Executive Order No. 28, establishing the New Jersey Means Business Economic Development Strategy, a government effort to make the state more business-friendly, increase New Jersey's economic competitiveness, and create "quality jobs" across the state.

The Chapped Cheese is located at 163B Main Street, Hackensack. Find out more here.

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