Roast beef, avocado, sprouts, and a little Dijon on multigrain bread is the taste of nostalgia for Starvin Marvins’ owner Colby Jacobson.

“Growing up, it’s good memories making good sandwiches, going to the lake,” said Jacobson, who grew up outside of Tahoe. “Mom was making them nice, picnic style.”

That sandwich is also the inspiration for one of the more popular menu items at Marv’s House, the California Coastin.

Opened on Aug. 3, in collaboration with Oasis Under the Sun, Starvin Marvins is located at 690 Wrelton Drive in North Pacific Beach, minutes from the water, in what was until recently an empty, dirt lot.

In addition to Starvin Marvins, the lot now includes a jewelry boutique, beer and wine garden, and coffee shop.

Jacobson estimated that construction took about eight months.

“There was a commercially zoned home on the same lot and the owner was moving out,” he remembered. “I was saying ‘Now that we have beer and wine, we should probably have food and a restroom. We did it so rapidly – I was there 12 hours a day. It was an old dirt junkyard. We did everything from pulling weeds to flattening out the ground, building the boutiques and a wooden deck.”

The converted house is Marvs. Open Thursday through Sunday, the menu features subs and flatbreads with homemade furniture repurposed from old surfboards and skate decks as decor.

“I love to surf,” Jacobson said. “It’s the atmosphere where you order at an older Hawaiian wooden table. It’s vintage. I have my record player and a big painting of Elton John holding a sandwich. The vibe is surfing and family. It is your very local neighborhood place.”

Jacobson called the tri-tip “the local favorite.”

“I do it braised in a crock pot and then oven to get it a little charred,” he said. “A lot of people imagine a tri-tip sliced – the sandwich I do is shredded.”

He described his personal sandwich philosophy as a little more subtle and a little less gut-busting.

“Everything is fresh,” Jacobson said. “Crafting is my desire with a nice mixture of making sure everyone is happy. Having a vegan option and doing a tuna melt that’s not overwhelming. Getting a big meatball sandwich is great but sometimes you are like ‘Ah, my stomach!’ Our style is just quality eats and feeling good.”

The shop is run by Jacobson along with a few friends and contributions from his dad behind the counter.

“It’s me and three other buddies,” he said. “My dad pops in as well.”

Before opening the shop, Jacobson was an X-ray technician at UCSD Hillcrest. He had prior experience in the culinary space, though, working for eight years at the Fishery down the street to pay off college.

“I always want things to be pristine,” Jacobson said. “I can get myself overwhelmed overthinking [the business]. I don’t want to be consumed by the restaurant industry, I’m not looking to be well-well off I am more just having fun and learning a lot.”

Starvin Marvins is currently unavailable on delivery apps and word of mouth is largely driving the business.

“I am more into the neighborhood aspect,” Jacobson said. “I am not doing Uber Eats or DoorDash. I don’t advertise that much. The location is there, the food is there and the atmosphere is there.”

What about the name?

“I grew up heavy in the basketball community in Northern California and one of the local announcers was named Marv,” Jacobson remembered. “At practice, we started calling each other Marv instead of bro. Now everyone [from that friend circle] calls each other Marv and the ladies are Marvras. It fits in with strange. Imagine if you say that on the beach ‘I am starving.’ A lot of people can relate – there are a lot of Marvins.”

STARVIN MARVINS

Where: 690 Wrelton Drive

Información: https://www.starvinmarvinshouse.com/