Penn Station, another sub shop, is open for business and aiming to give back to the community.
Penn Station opened on Sept. 2 but store manager Phil Adkins said that he and his partners had been trying to move into the city for more than 18 months. He said they had been waiting to find the right location for their new Penn Station.
Their store is at 1616 E Wooster St “basically just for its location,” Adkins said. “The accessibility to the interstate, we’re right across the street from the football stadium, caddy-corner from Stroh center [and there’s] plenty of parking.”
“It’s easy in, easy out,” Adkins said. “We’re on the main drag of Wooster.”
Adkins said that Penn Station is different from the competition in town because of how the subs are prepared.
“[As far as] our competition, one is strictly cold sub[s], one is…toasted sub[s]; ours are all cooked on the grill” Adkins said. “So that’s what the difference is.”
Adkins also said that the cheese, deli meats and vegetables are all hand-sliced at Penn Station.
Senior Latifat Owe emphasized that she liked Penn Station because they used fresh ingredients. She said, compared to Steak Escape in the Union, she could taste the difference in how the food is prepared.
Sophomore Alexis Mann said “I like that they make the food right there.”
Adkins said that the Wooster Street Penn Station is set up as a “fast casual” restaurant. He said the customer places the order at the front end of the counter, they pay at the far end, then they can sit down. The customer’s name is called out and an employee will bring it to you, Adkins said.
Senior Molly Siudzinski is a Penn Station employee and a previous Panera employee. She said that the two stores are similar in the way that they provide food and customer service.
Adkins said that he also wants Penn Station to give back to the community. He said he has already started to get involved with the youth hockey about hosting a fundraiser night at Penn Station. He said it might be set up so that customers bring in fliers and the youth hockey team will get 10 percent of the sales.
“We just don’t wanna take from the community, we wanna give back,” Adkins said.
