Shop Talk: Nothing beats a good sandwich (discussion)

I've written a lot about how the recession is affecting the expansion plans of many national retailers and restaurants.

Apparently the folks at Inland Northwest Business Development didn't get the memo.

The Spokane-based firm, which owns Subway franchises throughout the Yakima Valley, has opened several new locations in the past year, including one at the Orchards Shopping Center at 72nd Avenue and Tieton Drive and on 2402 S. First St., across the street from the Valley Mall area.

Now the company is opening another three locations in the next few months.

The first will come at the Westpark Shopping Center at 40th and Summitview avenues, which is scheduled to open at the end of July, said Tony Rizzo, regional manager for the Yakima territory.

Another one is planned for Second Street and Yakima Avenue in downtown Yakima. That particular location will offer breakfast, only the second one in the Inland Northwest Business Development franchise to do so. That location is scheduled to open in late August or early September.

The final one will come in West Valley inside the new Wal-Mart Supercenter at 64th Avenue and West Nob Hill Boulevard. When that store will open will depend on Wal-Mart's schedule, Rizzo said.

"We don't want to leave any gaps in the marketplace whatsoever," Rizzo said.

When I wrote in the Shop Talk blog last week about the new Subway location opening in downtown Yakima, people didn't hesitate to lets their opinions be heard.

Some expressed disappointment, such as this one:

Why can't Yakima get something new that people actually want? ... They could have at least built a Carl's Jr. or Popeye's Chicken if it was just going to be a fast food joint.

With the three new locations, there will be 18 locations in Yakima County. That surpasses the number of McDonald's locations in Yakima County, at 10.

Inland Northwest Business Development will own 11 of those locations, Rizzo said.

As for the blog feedback, he disagrees with the comment that people don't want more Subway locations.

"The community is the one who is telling us (that they want more stores) through how busy our stores are," he said.

*******

Some blog readers took the opportunity to take a jab at former Yakima City Council member Ron Bonlender, co-owner of the Sub Shop of Yakima, which has a location just down the street from the future downtown Subway location:

Franchises usually do a good market analysis prior to approving a new store. I'm betting Bonlender's negative "good will" was a factor in looking at the competition around that location.

It will be interesting to see which survives -- the local small businessman about whom people are polarized or the chain.

I brought that up with Bonlender. He wasn't too worried.

"I'm certain that it affects business to some extent. (Some customers) will deliberately avoid coming here and deliberately go to a competitor. But we get conservative people coming in here."

Bonlender does believe that there isn't room in the downtown area for all the sandwich shops, which also include The Lunch Box and The Market Place Deli.

"One of us has to go, and I'm determined not to make it me," he said.

The Sub Shop has three locations; Bonlender owns two of them. He sold the third, at 24th Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard, to a long-time employee last year.

(It's probably worth noting that the Nob Hill location is across the street from a Subway.)

But Bonlender is concerned that the downtown Subway location will take away business with out-of-town visitors who are walking around the area. He believes that Subway's name recognition might generate more business for the chain.

But he refuses to give up.

"We're not giving them nothing," he said. "We're not caving into anything. We don't feel we have to match them price-wise or anything else."

Rizzo, the Subway regional manager, thinks there's plenty of market share for all the sandwich-making players.

"I'm a guy who loves local business. We're not down there to push anyone out," he said. "We think there's enough market share and enough street traffic that we'll fare as well as anyone else."

*******

In other Shop Talk news:

* Speaking of new restaurants, one is opening today. Sage, the restaurant and wine bar located at 40th and Washington avenues, has been in the works for more than a year. Sage's focus is on Northwest cuisine with wines from Washington and Oregon.

* Geppetto's Italian Bistro & Deli is looking to open by July 9, according to Craig Paddock and Dick Paddock, the son and father who have developed the restaurant. The restaurant is off the corner of 32nd and Summitview avenues, next to The Shopkeeper.

So what do you think of all the Subway locations? Do you think the Sub Shop of Yakima and the other sandwich joints can compete? Join the discussion over the Shop Talk blog (www.yakimaherald.com/shoptalk). Or speak your mind over at Shop Talk's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/YHR-Shop-Talk/54463033365) and Twitter page (http://twitter.com/shoptalkexpress).

Until next week, happy shopping.

* Mai Hoang's Reporter's Notebook is published Mondays in the Your Money section. To reach her, call 509-577-7685 or e-mail mhoang@yakimaherald.com.

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