The new $5 foot-long
By DAVID WEIDENBORNER
Staff Writer
Look out Subway, you might have some new competition.
Located on Englewood Avenue in the University Heights, the New Englewood Grocery has been a college staple for the past three years. Owned and operated by the Hassain family, the small corner store has supplied local residents with a bevy of goods in the past few years, ranging from milk and tobacco to munchies and toiletries.
And now they are trying to find success in the sandwich business.
Starting on March 19, the New Englewood Grocery began offering foot-long submarine sandwiches made to order.
In what used to be the empty unused space at the end of the store's front counter is now a fully-stocked assortment of deli goods. The Hassain family is currently using only Boar's Head products, including a variety of meats, cheeses and condiments as well as submarine rolls from a local bakery. Behind the counter is a new meat slicer that allows store employees to quickly assemble the sandwiches.
And using the same marketing plan as the dominant force in the sandwich world, Subway, the corner store's submarines are priced at $5.
"We wanted to try out the same method as Subway," said Mohsen Hassain, 20, of Buffalo. "We were going to start at that price and eventually change it but now we might keep it that way."
With the recent business success, New Englewood has no reason to change its strategy. The store is selling 15 to 20 foot-long submarines daily, a number that seems to be increasing with each passing day.
"[Selling sandwiches] started out slow at first but then we started selling double the amount," Hassain said. "And this past week we've tripled the amount sold."
While the store has no ideas of taking over the submarine market by storm, it does pride itself on creating a good product. So far customers have not been disappointed.
Nicholas Lombardo, a sophomore pharmacy major, chose a foot-long roast beef sub with no cheese for his first sampling of the New Englewood Grocery's new offerings.
"I'd have to say it was amazing since it was Boar's Head," Lombardo said. "Plus I live on Englewood [Avenue] so it's really convenient."
This success is a big difference from how the New Englewood Grocery fared last semester. After deciding to stop selling alcoholic beverages, business took a big hit. Fewer people came in, and the store lost out on both alcohol sales as well as other complimentary items that would be purchased with beer or malt liquor drinks.
The Hassain family has no plans to restock the empty coolers with alcohol anytime soon, but hasn't completely ruled out the notion of bringing it back sometime in the future. Either way, business is on an up swing.
"We're doing much better [than last semester]. Maybe it's the new food we have or the good weather," Hassain said. "But we'll take it."
The sub addition may be the first of several changes the store has for future business. The Hassains have always been interested in creating a store that is able to accept Campus Cash.
"That would definitely help out with business because of all the college students in the area," Hassain said.
Along with the new deli section, the store hopes to add a hot food section in the future. This would allow for hot subs like meatball as well as a number of soups.
"I think it's a good idea but it's very expensive," Hassain said. "The equipment can cost between $15,000 and $25,000."
And with the additional revenue, the New Englewood Grocery could be expanding their choices even further in the future.
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
The new $5 foot-long
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