Sacramento State has been without a memorable person in the Library Quad since the beginning of spring 2011 &- Togo’s sandwiches’ Cheng Wang is that man.

Wang’s famous cries of “Saaaaandwich and soda” and “It’s a lunchtime” could be heard in the Library Quad every day around lunchtime.

University Enterprises Inc. spokeswoman Celexsy Adame said it’s because Wang’s cart was not up to proper code.

“In response to new county health department permit requirements for refrigerated carts, UEI discontinued the Togo’s cart,” Adame said. “In light of the new permit requirements, UEI is evaluating options for a new cart.”

The sandwich cart and Wang were synonymous on campus, though with the cart on the sidelines, Adame said, Wang is safe and sound.

“The Togo’s cart operator continues to work in the River Front Center, where the full Togo’s menu is offered,” Adame said.

Sacramento County Department of Environmental Management supervisor Jeff Czapla said Togo’s needs the proper paperwork to operate a food cart on campus.

“Togo’s has the correct permit to serve food out of the current facility there on campus,” Czapla said. “What they would need to do in order to operate a satellite or moving cart is to purchase a permit for such an operation.”

Beyond having the correct permit for a moving cart, Czapla said the cart must also keep the food being served at the right temperatures.

“The cart must also be able to maintain a constant temperature of 41 degrees or cooler. This is to ensure that the sandwiches being served for the hours that the cart is in operation are as fresh as possible,” Czapla said. “So Togo’s has to prove that they have this capability, along with having the name and address of the company on the cart as well. When these are satisfied, they would need to call us and we would issue Togo’s for a satellite food facility.”

The cart Wang operated did not have the capability of being plugged in. Rather what kept the sandwiches and sodas cold was ice placed inside the plastic blue cart. According to Environmental Management, that contributed to Togo’s being asked to discontinue food service from its carts until further notice.

“The reason that the food needs to be served at (41 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature, is to prevent any microbial growth within the food being served. If there is any growth within the food, the server runs the risk of potentially making their customer sick,” Czapla said. “This would then cause a foodborne illness within the customer eating the food.”

Czapla said the permit would cost UEI $190 per year on top of maintaining a regular inspection schedule conducted by his department.

“Our whole goal in this situation is that we to be able to identify the cart being used to serve the food,” Czapla said. “So we want to make sure in this instance that this cart indeed does come from the Togo’s facility, that the food was prepared fresh the morning of the service day and that the food is being served at the right temperature.”

Within the past decade, social media websites like MySpace and Facebook have given the public the opportunity to network that has not been seen prior. It has also allowed groups of individuals to like or dislike topics and people.

In fall 2009, junior communication studies major Kyle Madson created the “SAAAAAAAAAAAAANDWICH AND SODA!” Facebook fan page for Wang.

With 5,912 fans, Madson said members of the page took notice of Wang’s absence.

“There are members of page that are alums and write how much they miss seeing Cheng on campus,” Madson said. “There have been instances of individuals that have come back to campus just to buy a sandwich from him.”

Matt Harrington can be reached at [email protected]