By Joshua Grove
Beacon Correspondent
Alger Subs LLC, a partnership made up of Dennis Van Landschoot of Van Landschoot & Sons, Melinda Savola of Pictured Rocks Real Estate and Bromley Hall of Hall Contracting, took ownership of the Subway restaurant at 132 E. Munising Ave. on Aug. 27, with former owner Jody Irving returning as a consultant.
The partners expressed hope that their purchase will keep more money in the community, support local workers and set a high standard of quality and customer service moving forward.
“I saw the Subway for sale some time ago,” Van Landschoot said. “My first thought was that I would start a fish and chips store there. But when I investigated it, I found out that the Subway contract went for another 13 years. … So I looked at the numbers, and I said, ‘OK, I think I can make this go and do some good work with the profits.’”
After a period of vetting to become a Subway franchisee, Van Landschoot connected with Savola and Hall about the prospect of a partnership.
“I chose to invest in Subway because it’s a globally recognized brand with a proven system, and I liked the idea of having a healthy option for our community members year-round,” Savola said. “I felt having local ownership would help bring back benefits to our community, such as offering a fun and family-feel work environment for employees, as well as giving back to the community, whether it be supporting local sports teams, local emergency response teams or local community groups that make our community the special place it is.”
Hall shares the other partners’ community-forward vision of the business.
“Munising is home,” he said. “I wanted to make sure Subway stayed part of it, but for me it’s not just about the sandwiches. This partnership lets us support the town and stand behind Melinda and Jodi as they bring this business back on track for the next generation to enjoy.”
Since taking the reins at the end of last month, the partners have pushed to bring the location up to its current standards, cleaning, making updates and hiring more staff to work the counter. They also brought back a familiar face to ensure it all runs smoothly.
Irving, who managed and later owned the location beginning in 2001, has returned as a consultant to the new ownership team. She remained until the store was sold in 2017.
“I’m so excited that there are local owners again,” Irving said. “Really good, wonderful, local business people. I’m doing some consulting work, trying to help them be successful, which I know they are going to be. You’ll see me making some sandwiches for sure and working with the management and working with the crew, and I just want to do everything I can to make the ownership team very successful.”
According to Van Landschoot, the focus at this stage is on making the store an inviting place for customers and employees.
“We’re not interested at this point in driving that bottom line,” Van Landschoot said. “We’re interested in our employees and making them feel important, getting the morale of the company to be where we want it and making sure that we’re really taking care of the client. … When the employees are happy, and when the customer is happy, the bottom line will be where it needs to be.”