BILLINGS - A Jersey Mike's Subs restaurant will open in Billings at Shiloh Crossing in mid-September.
The owner of the Billings franchise, John Vagner, said Friday the restaurant will open at 1020 Shiloh Crossing Blvd. in suite 2. This is the same building that houses Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
"We chose that location because obviously it’s a great place in the Billings community," Vagner said. "It’s a great shopping environment. And it gives us the opportunity to be close to some businesses over there that we can serve them as well."
This will be the second Jersey Mike's location in Montana. The first is in Bozeman.
The sub shop will employ 25 people, and if all goes well, Vagner would like to expand.
"We’re in the process of hiring and interviewing for crew positions and shift leads right now," Vagner said. "And we’re hoping to develop some more stores over the next few years here in the market."
Vagner said Jersey Mike's is all about "fresh." The bread is baked in-house, vegetables are cut fresh every day, and the roast beef is trimmed, tied, and cooked in-house.
Vagner said that Jersey Mike's as a company wants to help out local nonprofit groups in the communities they serve. According to Vagner, the company gave $7 million to nonprofits nationwide last year.
Jersey Mike's will partner with Billings nonprofit Tumbleweed during its grand-opening celebration. Tumbleweed aims to help at-risk teens in Billings.
"We're going to give away between 8,000 and 10,000 sub coupons, and we're going to ask for a $2 donation," Vagner said. "So if you get one of those coupons when you come into the store during that first week that we're open, we're going to give 100 percent of that donation right to Tumbleweed to help support their program there."
Vagner decided to open the sub shop after retiring from 32 years in the school photography business. He said he fell in love with the company after doing some work with them a few years ago. He has spent 10 weeks in training visiting other Jersey Mike's locations to prepare for the Billings store's grand opening.
Jersey Mike's has 1592 restaurants across 47 states and is headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey.
