After over a year of remodeling and several months of delays, Subway opened for regular business hours last Monday, April 21. The restaurant also held a limited opening last week.

Sodexo’s Resident District Manager Ira Simon said Monday’s opening was “much busier than [last Wednesday’s],” with business picking up around lunchtime.

“We know that it’s going to take some time for students and faculty to realize that we are open at 7:30 a.m.,” said Simon. “As students realize that we are open for regular hours, I think we’re going to see more business.”
Last Wednesday, the restaurant held an invite-only opening. Devin Brock, Sodexo’s retail manager, said they made more than 260 sandwiches over the course of two hours.
“Sometimes you invite people for free food and they’re like, ‘yeah, sure, I guess I’ll show up,’ but people really came out,” said Brock of Wednesday’s opening. “It went perfect. [The staff] didn’t miss a step, which is wonderful.”

On April 17 and 18, the restaurant held a soft opening for the public, running limited hours from 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
“We’ve been having post-production meetings and kind of just going over all of the little things that didn’t work quite as well and how to be friendlier, more approachable and talk about promotions,” said Brock.

Brock said it is a “stress reliever” to finally be open.
“You build up to this event where everybody’s just like, ‘When’s it going to open, when’s it going to happen?’” said Brock. “Then you just think to yourself, ‘God, I hope we don’t screw up.’”

Brock says that overall, feedback from the students and faculty has generally been positive.

“We’ve had some faculty members say that, you know, ‘We’re going to eat here every day, I want to be like Jared [from the Subway commercials],’” said Brock. “People are saying things like, ‘It’s so great to have more healthy options and things like that on campus.’”

Several students who visited the restaurant on the first day agreed.

“It’s definitely nice having other options from the dining halls or library café,” said freshman Paolo Manalo, an international studies major.

“It was a very long wait but it’s worth it,” said junior Evan Boucher, a computer science major.

The restaurant is working with a trainer for its first 10 days in operation to make sure everything goes off without a hitch, according to Brock.

“[They’re there] to make sure that we not only have our staff up to their expectations but that we meet the customer expectations,” said Brock.

Students and faculty can also expect to see some familiar faces at Subway.

“We’ve got some new employees as well as a couple employees that have worked at other locations at DU, so some people will recognize some of the employees as well,” said Brock. “You’ll definitely find a very, very approachable staff.”

Simon said the process of opening the restaurant was a “long haul” but that he looked forward to the restaurant’s future.

“I think Subway’s going to be real popular and I think it’s a win-win for everybody,” said Simon.