Visit this delightful seaside delicatessen

—The Cayucos Sausage Company makes gourmet sausages using their signature seasonings, great sandwiches, and treats for your dog. A must-try is their Tequila Mustard and Signature Seasoning. Located on North Ocean Street in Cayucos, this shop, and deli are easy to find by the tables, umbrellas, and beautiful flowerpots in front. Enjoy your meal while people-watching or on the patio behind the shop.

The Central Coast is known for many interesting types of foods, tri-tip, and avocados for instance, but sausage is definitely uncommon. So, the success of Don and Juneé Sherwood’s Cayucos Sausage Company is a welcome treat for visitors and locals. Formerly located at the back of the Cayucos Supermarket, the sausage company was a local favorite for over 18 years. The couple finally relocated across the street from Shoreline Inn and are now a favorite for both locals and visitors.

Sausage was in Don Sherwood’s blood from the time he was 12. Raised locally, Sherwood is the last of nine children who had the opportunity to work for local ranchers, many of whom were of Italian/Swiss ancestry. “At one time of the year they would make Swiss sausage,” he explained, “and I learned from that.”

Sherwood eventually went into the meat industry and met a German man who desired to hand down his recipes for making sausage. He picked Don as his apprentice and even though he left the meat business for years, those recipes remained with him. When returning to the meat business he began to use those recipes but altered them to create his sausage specialty line.

Sausage is made with premium pork and fresh spices. After Juneé bugged Don for years he came up with a chicken sausage. The flavor wasn’t quite what he wanted and one night after pondering it for hours he suddenly thought of the missing ingredient. It was cranberry. He did the same thing with Irish sausage finally hitting on Guinness Blonde Ale. It’s his personal favorite.

Sausages offered are Coastal Italian, French Apple, Jalapeno Chipotle, Hot Basque, Baja, Bratwurst, and many more varieties. They also make two holiday sausages: Pumpkin Spice (Halloween) and Champagne Pecan (Christmas). All sausages are handmade in the store with no preservatives.

Sausage isn’t everything there is also a Deli with tasty sandwiches on fresh Brian’s Bread. Meats offered are turkey, ham, roast beef, pastrami, tri-tip, pork roast, salami, and Mary’s Chicken, a delicacy not matched by other chickens. Cheeses include Provolone, Swiss, Smoked Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Muenster, Cheddar, and American. Sandwiches can be topped with their special Tequila Mustard, house-made Garlic Aioli, Chipotle Mayo, avocado, or lettuce and tomato.

Cooked foods available are delicious baby back ribs, pork roast, tri-tip, and Mary’s free-range rotisserie chickens. Soups and salads are also on the menu.

The latest creation, which may prove to be the million-dollar moneymaker, is Juneé’s specialty, Dog Treats. “I took Pork Cranberry Sausage cooked it, sliced it and dehydrated it, and came up with this nice little dog treat,” she said. “Dogs are literally going crazy for it.” On each day about 30 to 50 dogs go by the store and each stop to get their treat. A label with a name and packaging is in the works.

Cayucos Sausage Company is at 12 North Ocean Street, Suite 121, in Cayucos. Parking in the front and back, which is accessed from the north on the street just before the store location, Hours are daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mon and Tue. For information and to check out the menu, visit cayucossausage.net or call (805) 900-5377.

– By Ruth Ann Angus