After more than 20 years, Florida's largest regional sub and grill chain, The New Miami Subs Grill, announced its return to Miami's Magic City.
Three new restaurant franchises, Miami Springs, Miami, and South Beach, will open in 2012 and 2013. Each will reflect the new modernized look and feel to come for the iconic franchise chain.
The first of the new restaurants will open at South Royal Poinciana Boulevard in Miami Springs, Florida, in mid-November.
Veteran Miami Subs franchisee John Nakis will open The New Miami Subs Grill in Miami Springs.
Representing the next generation of the brand, the Miami Springs location will offer hip and modernized interiors, 24-hour service, a breakfast menu, and the reintroduction of beer and champagne, which were original mainstays at the successful franchise operation.
Miami Subs in Miami Springs will be a measure of the upcoming facelift to expect from the iconic franchise chain, which is currently undergoing significant brand development to ready for domestic and worldwide expansion.
Nakis, a successful businessman, has been with Miami Subs since its beginnings, opening his first restaurant in 1992 and three more locations in Dade County and Tallahassee, Florida.
Though he left the franchise after a change in ownership in 1999, Nakis continued to follow the brand's movement.
Nakis says his decision to return to the franchise and join the brand's revival movement came after the introduction of the new ownership and an appointed management team by CEO Richard Chwatt in 2010.
"I am excited to see the changes taking shape at Miami Subs,” Nakis says. “The evolution of the brand is readily apparent through recent new menu introductions and renovations. Now that international music sensation Pitbull is involved with the brand, there are definitely some exciting new changes to come.”
The announcement marks a momentous achievement for Miami Subs.
"John was one of our best franchisees," CEO Chwatt says. "We are elated to welcome him back on board and find it very fitting that he be the one leading the new expansion into Miami."
The New Miami Subs Grill franchise chain has been on an uptick since Chwatt's new ownership and appointed management team took effect in 2010.
Achieving record-breaking sales comparisons store by store, year over year, for 72 out of 74 weeks respectively, Chwatt attributes this to the franchise's focus on revitalizing the brand through renovation, relocation, and a commitment to downsizing existing locations that simply don't fall in line with projected growth plans.
Recently, the Fort Lauderdale–based chain announced aggressive expansion efforts in Latin America for 2012 and 2013, as well as an equity partnership with Armando Christian Perez, the international music sensation also known as "Pitbull."