News & Current Projects

Subway keeping up with the times

Crookston Daily Times
By Mike Christopherson, Managing Editor

January 13, 2006 - Changes to the interior of Crookston's Subway sandwich shop are wrapping up, and soon exterior updates including a new awning and a sign will commence.

That's the word from Diane Brorby, who owns the Crookston Subway franchise with her husband, Kurt.

The interior changes for the most part involve updating the overall look of the place. But old equipment has also been replaced, Brorby said. The daily routine of late has been having a crew from Sevigny Construction do as much work as possible in the morning before cleanup and preparations for the daily lunch rush need to commence. Brorby said the interior work should be completed in a day or two.

"Then we'll need to find someone to put the new awning up outside and change the sign," she said.

The changes and updates are included in Subway's franchise agreements. Franchise owners like the Brorbys are required to keep up with changes Subway makes on a national level every ten years. The local franchise owners received some financing from the Crookston Development Authority to help cover the costs.

Even though the updates are required, Brorby isn't complaining.

"Some people may think it's not fair, but I think it really makes you keep up and stay updated," she said this morning while checking progress on the renovations. "Think about how often you change something in your house in 10 years. I wouldn't know, though, because I spend more time here."

No expansion or structural changes are required, nor are they planned, she added. The configuration of the parcel make a drive-through window almost impossible, Brorby said, and she's not convinced that it would be successful, either, given the nature of ordering and preparing Subway sandwiches with a wide variety of topping options.

The renovation aren't the only changes coming to the local franchise. Brorby said the addition of a breakfast menu is in the works. They're currently checking in with national Subway headquarters and determining staffing and inventory needs to make the new menu a reality.

The restaurant currently opens at 10 a.m. A breakfast menu would trigger a much earlier opening.

"We want to check with the local factories and things like that to see when they're going on shift or getting off a shift," Brorby explained. "Then we'll figure out when the best time is to open."

Some sort of re-grand opening will likely accompany all the changes, she added.