PHOTOS BY KRISTY GRAVER

Vinny Platek doesn’t mind spending his life behind bars — and a grill.

When he’s not riding his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, he’s whipping up everything from steak hoagies and natural casing hotdogs to kielbasa and hamburgers at The Kickstand Sandwich Shop in Brookline. Starting April 3, he’ll fire up the barbecue outside of the storefront. When you can start to smell sizzling green peppers and onions, you know summer isn’t far off.

The business at 936 Brookline Blvd. is small, but hard to miss. Platek, a Castle Shannon resident, decorated the exterior and interior (including the ceiling) with handwritten signs highlighting menu items, Harley-Davidson flags and motorcycle parts. There’s even a few shellacked Mancini’s Bakery loaves advertising specials such as The Rocky Balboa Pizza Sub. If you scream “Yo, Adrian!” after you place your order, you get a free can of pop or bottle of water with your meal.

All of the sandwiches are huge, but if you’re really hungry, you can attempt The Wolfpac Challenge. Finish two foot-long Italian subs with lettuce, tomato, onion and provolone cheese on a Mancini’s bun and a pound of fries in 30 minutes or less and you’ll get your $20 back and T-shirt proclaiming your gastronomic fortitude.

Only two out of 65 participants have conquered the feat. I’m always hungry like the wolf, so don’t be surprised if you see me rockin’ that T-shirt soon.

In addition to gut-busting, made-to-order sandwiches (including killer breakfast options), the Kickstand sells calzones, meatballs, wedding soup, chili, salads, pickles, soft pretzels, garlic bread, nachos, onion rings and prepackaged ice cream, popsicles, candy and snacks. Colossal fish sandwiches fly out the door during the Lenten season.

Feeding people has been a lifelong passion for Platek, who started working at the Essie’s Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland when he was 9 years old. He moved up the ladder from stock boy at the beloved eatery that was famous for serving colossal piles of fries to nighttime manager.

When the beloved institution closed in 2020 after 60 years in business, Platek thought it would be cool to open his own takeout joint that would, in time, become a neighborhood landmark in its own right. The Castle Shannon resident went full throttle with his dream in August of that year.

It’s now known around Brookline as “the place with all of the signs.”

“What you see is what you get. We are blue collar,” is scrawled on a chalkboard above the door.

“Brookline has been good to us,” Platek says. “Anyone who comes through our door leaves as family.”

Patrons are welcome to write their name on the wall or share their Kickstand experience in notebooks left out on the counter. You could pass an entire afternoon inside the shop reading all of the heartfelt sentiments.

“I want customers to be involved,” Platek says. “This is your place as much as it is mine.”