Palos Hills native, Bobby Wooten, has found his passion and is living out his dream in the Big Apple.
In New York, he has collaborated with the likes of David Byrne, Sabrina Carpenter, Carly Rae Jepsen, Mac Miller, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Lopez, and many more musical artists from all over.
When he gets a chance to return home, the priority remains his family but he does make sure to get some better eats than just say – an apple. Instead, one of his longtime favorite spots is Peppo’s Subs in Palos Hills.
The multi-talented musician has now joined forces with the famed local sandwich establishment for a very special sub.
“It was huge,” Wooten said, “The moment I come home it’s like the first spot I go to.”
Family and friends as well as other patrons gathered and tried out the “The Wooten” at Peppo’s Subs in Palos Hills on Saturday, Oct. 25.
While Wooten has been eating subs for years, it was not until recently that he and Peppo’s owner Robert Peplowski connected.
Shortly after being inducted into the District 230 Foundation’s Legacy Hall in 2022, Wooten’s mom, Ismadi, stopped into the sub shop. She wanted to bring up the idea of her son having a specialty sub on their menu.
“I think it would be cool, my son would never ask,” Ismadi had said to Peplowski that afternoon.
Now, three years later, “The Wooten” is here.
The sub contains all the Italian meats (hard salami and cotto salami), provolone cheese, spicy guts, but absolutely no mayo. Wooten stressed, “I have a strong hatred towards mayo.”
The twist is that they take elements of the sandwich and chop them up together before placing it in the fresh sandwich roll. But the key to the sub will remain Peppo’s famous “guts.”
“I think the key to a Peppo’s sandwich being amazing is that they put so much guts on there that it overflows. So, after you’ve eaten the sandwich bread part, you got to take a fork to finish it off,” Wooten said.
This chopped style is famous in New York where Wooten currently lives and where Peplowski and his wife, Alexandri, shared a visit with him this past year.
Peppo’s is no stranger to making connections with the area as they are often selling or giving out sandwiches at local events throughout the year.
“If you want a sustainable business, especially now, you must connect with the community or they might not have a reason to connect with you,” Peplowski said.
“Part of why I want to do this is definitely the family,” Wooten said. “So, we already have my mom’s aspect, and then my brother and sister love it here.”
Wooten joins fellow Stagg grad and Cleveland Cavaliers star Max Strus as the only two locals with their very own sandwiches at Peppo’s.
“It’s cool to do that with these people who have grown up here, not just go out and get somebody else. We want a reason,” Peplowski said. “The people element matters so much to us because that’s what’s been the sustainable part of our business.”
When Wooten made that trip for the Legacy Hall induction, he met with students for a complete day at Stagg. Something he enjoys but does not come so easy for the musician.
“I get more nervous for my lectures that I give than any performance I’ve ever done,” Wooten.
Being there is important to him and stressing the importance of education is a big deal.
“Education has always been important to me. I come from educators, so I’ve always had that desire,” Wooten said. “It’s only always gonna be for me rewarding in that manner to just, like, give back.”