The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
SubCity adds third NE Ohio location
Take-out, delivery sandwich shop previously operated at Richmond Town Square
With two existing regional eateries in operation, plus a food truck, Darryl Clement and Tremaine Gilson knew the fruits of their labors were paying off.
So, the two friends, business partners and former marketing and promotions associates, recently decided to do what most successful entrepreneurs consider — expand their brand.
In 2015, they opened their third SubCity sandwich shop at Richmond Town Square in Richmond Heights. A different and much larger space operating as a sports lounge with a full bar, the duo gave it a year before making the decision to grow the franchise in its original light.
Choosing to remain on the East Side, the two chose to relocate just miles north to Euclid.
“Sometimes less is more,” Gilson said. “The location (at the mall) tied up a lot of money. It really felt like a second fulltime job with what we already had going on. We knew we could find a better location. We didn’t leave Richmond to come here, exactly. We wanted to focus on being more of a carry-out/delivery restaurant like our other locations. Bottom line is we wanted something smaller and simpler. We saw this was available and moved forward.”
SubCity also operates at 20920 Southgate Park in Maple Heights and at 17811 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland, the first location, which opened in 2013.
The newest SubCity, at 26598 Lake Shore Blvd., a former seafood restaurant, opened at the end of
The eatery, designed primarily for carry-out, does offer dining in for about 10 people, with windowledge seating and a small patio, also.
May. The eatery, designed primarily for carry-out, does offer dining in for about 10 people, with window-ledge seating and a small patio, also.
Clement and Gilson said they renovated the inside of the business themselves, with minimal cosmetic improvements and the addition of their own equipment.
“In our business, a (range) cooking hood is very important,” Gilson said. “A lot of restaurants, small and large, spend a lot of money on those. Fortunately for us, this place had one already. It was decent enough to work with.
We knew we could use it, though we cleaned it up, to prepare our menu.”
Naturally, an eatery named SubCity features a variety of submarine sandwiches, 15 in all, ranging from chicken, steak and shrimp Philly-styles, to turkey, ham and Italian. But Clement and Gilson also round out their fare with loaded potatoes, rice bowls, wraps, salads, quesadillas, and wings. Appetizers, sides and vegetarian options are also available, in addition to a kids menu.
Enjoying the steady success of their latest franchise, the co-owners are determined to remain focused on their elemental plan to continue that success.
“Things are going well, it’s been really good,” Gilson said. “We’re continuing to get a lot of support from Euclid. I don’t know how many police officers we’ve had come in here. And our delivery service is picking up, too. We get a lot of walk-in customers, but delivery, that’s another main thing we want to promote.
“We’ve had the taste for working for ourselves for a long time, and now we’re looking to add a location on the West Side. I mean, who doesn’t like to eat? That’s the route that’s worked for us. We do a lot of research sampling different foods, finding out what people are interested in. The goal always was to hit different sides of Cleveland.”