Subway restaurants plan to continue the expansion in non-traditional locations by utilizing established businesses in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania area.
This expansion creates a new platform for Subway restaurants to reach new customer bases such as families, hospitals, and business centers.
The local Subway Development of Eastern Pennsylvania Inc. (SDEPA) has opened many successful non-traditional locations within universities, theme parks, and casinos, with plans to expand.
In the early 1990s, the SDEPA opened the first non-traditional location at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. Originally franchisee owned and operated, the restaurant opened after simple prospecting and familiarizing park management. In 2006, Cedar Fair Dorney Park purchased the non-traditional Subway restaurant and opened a second store within park grounds. Today, this location is one of the most successful store locations in Pennsylvania—even though the doors are open only six months out of the year.
“We commonly see an initial investment of a non-traditional site expand into a much larger footprint and more prominent location, like our presence in Dorney Park,” says Ken O’Brien, vice president of business development at SDEPA. “Our small restaurant footprint allows us to fit into spaces that are otherwise not suitable for other chains.”
New Subway locations will open within the coming months in the Lehigh Valley area, including in hospitals and universities.
