Students will soon be able to add international sandwich chain Subway to the list of dining options near Thayer Street. The restaurant, whose future location is 114 Waterman St. - former home of Harvey's Ltd., a men's fine clothing store - will be one of 26,800 Subway franchises in 80 countries.
"We're hoping for four to five weeks," co-owner Steve Souza said of the projected opening for the store. He and co-owner Chuck Smith have always had interest in opening a store on or near Thayer Street. They briefly considered moving into a space on Meeting Street, behind Johnny Rockets, but opted for the Waterman Street location in the end. "The layout wasn't conducive" on Meeting Street, Souza said. He and Smith each own another Subway franchise in Rhode Island.
Contractors began work on the Waterman Street space last week, and a placard in the window advertises employment opportunities. Souza said he would "absolutely" be interested in hiring college students to work part time at the store.
Some locally run establishments in the Thayer Street area are less than thrilled about the sandwich chain's arrival. "They have lower cost options, but it's lower quality," said Jeff Devito, assistant manager of Ocean Coffee Roasters, which is located just west of the future Subway.
Lower cost can make all the difference for the cash-strapped college students that compose a large portion of these restaurants' clientele, so Ocean is doing what it can to improve its menu, especially in light of recent low sales. "With Subway opening, we need to be able to compete," Devito said.
Ocean recently introduced eight new sandwiches - "more specialty than just deli sandwiches," according to Devito - and new salads, like Asian chicken or spinach and bacon. The café also increased all sandwich portion sizes to include six ounces of meat and cheese. Devito said he hoped these changes would improve quality enough to make Ocean's prices more cost-efficient for students.
"What? They're opening next to Ocean's?" lamented Sanaa Rahman '08 when she heard of Subway's arrival. "The reason we go to Ocean's is because it's unique to Rhode Island."
