Penn Station East Coast Subs has signed multiple new agreements with existing franchisees for a total of 50 new restaurants.
The new agreements include units in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee; Canton, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; northern Kentucky; Charlotte and Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and St. Louis, Missouri. The franchisees are projected to open the new restaurants over approximately the next 60 months.
“Executing new development agreements with so many existing franchisees is really a testament to the confidence our franchisees have in the Penn Station franchise system and where we are going,” said Craig Dunaway, president of Penn Station. “Penn Station has emerged from the pandemic in growth mode. Our new development team has spent the last few months evaluating our growth strategy and adding experienced leadership and technology resources to ramp up growth. That is already coming to fruition with new development agreements, and we are also working with additional existing and prospective new franchisees to add even more growth.”
“We have development territory available in many major metropolitan areas for both existing and prospective new franchisees,” Dunaway said. “We feel that many prospective multi-unit franchisees from other brands are highly interested in expanding their portfolios right now and our premium quality sandwich brand complements many categories, including chicken, breakfast/brunch, Mexican and pizza concepts. We’re very excited to see what the next five years have in store for us, and our existing franchisees’ desire to grow speaks positively for Penn Station and our franchise community overall.”
Penn Station has also announced its Target Growth Area Development Incentive Program. The program offers 0 percent royalty for six months and 50 percent off initial franchise fees to both current and new franchisees that sign a new development agreement to open one or more new restaurants in eligible target growth areas.
“This incentive program provides franchisees the chance to bring our concept to new markets at a reduced fee structure,” Dunaway said. “Penn Station has always grown in concentric circles from our home base in Cincinnati, and these target growth areas were carefully chosen to line up with our long-term goals. We believe there are excellent markets within these states that will provide great opportunities for multi-unit growth with a concept that offers operational simplicity, premium products and an award-winning training program.”
The Target Growth Area Development Incentive Program includes the following areas:
Atlanta, Georgia; Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee; Chicago, Illinois; Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Kansas, and more.
About Penn Station East Coast Subs
Founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1985 by Jeff Osterfeld, Penn Station serves an assortment of fresh-grilled and cold deli sandwiches, wraps and salads made to order with high-quality ingredients. The menu also includes fresh-cut fries, hand-squeezed lemonade made throughout the day and fresh-baked chocolate chunk cookies baked in the restaurant.
After graduating from Miami University, Osterfeld opened “Jeffrey’s Delicatessen” in 1983 at a mall in Dayton, Ohio. During a trip to Philadelphia to research the East Coast version of the sub sandwich, Osterfeld realized the popularity of that city’s famous cheesesteak sandwiches and began selling a similar version at his restaurant that quickly became a customer favorite. He opened the first Penn Station in Cincinnati in 1985 with four sandwiches on the menu, all prepared to order directly in front of the customer, along with fresh-cut French fries and hand-squeezed lemonade.
Penn Station has more than 310 locations in 14 states including Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Penn Station has been consistently included on the Nation’s Restaurant News Top 200 list, and was one of Consumers’ Most Beloved Brands by Nation’s Restaurant News in 2021.
For more information, visit www.pennfranchise.com.
