Penn Station East Coast Subs, the fast-casual restaurant known for its legendary Philadelphia Cheesesteak Sub sandwich served hot and made-to-order on freshly baked French bread, recently signed a 5-unit agreement throughout the greater Atlanta area.
Joe Quatro, 35, a Penn Station fan since being introduced to the brand in 1997, plans to have the first unit open and operating at Village at North Druid Shopping Center located at 2556 Briarcliff Rd. NE Suite 102 in Atlanta by mid-June 2014 with 4 additional locations opening within the next 3 years.
“While a student at the University of Kentucky during my college years, I loved the food and was an avid customer. Once, while my father was visiting me on campus, we joked about opening a franchise location of my own one day and now that is actually becoming a reality,” said Quatro, who has had a successful career thus far as a banker and, most recently, a banking consultant.
Joining Quatro in Penn Station’s new Atlanta venture is business partner, Neil Viljoen, 38, who has been a multi-unit restaurant manager for major franchise concepts for 20 years.
“Penn Station has such a unique product line with freshly grilled East Coast style sandwiches, and I believe that introducing the brand to the people of Atlanta will be the perfect new endeavor,” said Viljoen who moved to Atlanta from his home country of South Africa nearly a decade ago.
Originally founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1985, Penn Station is an upscale, fast-casual restaurant chain. The company serves a variety of freshly grilled sandwiches, as well as fresh, hand-cut, made-to-order French fries, hand-squeezed lemonade made several times daily and chocolate chunk cookies baked fresh in the restaurant.
“There is a lot of competition in the area, but no other fast-casual concept out there tastes as great as Penn Station,” said Quatro, who started researching several franchise opportunities back in 2010. “We feel strongly about the quality of food and the great, supportive business model.”
“I believe the Atlanta market is ripe for Penn Station, and we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to bring it here,” said Viljoen. “The taste speaks for itself, and we hope the locals are just as excited to have Penn Station in Atlanta as we are to bring it to them.”
Penn Station has approximately 270 restaurants in 13 states including Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. All but one location is franchised. Projections call for the opening of 30 restaurants nationwide in 2014. Markets targeted for growth include Kansas City, Richmond, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and North and South Carolina, as well as a number of other existing markets. For more information, visit www.penn-station.com.
