COOK- It’s been 20 years since Lisa Ojanen opened up the now familiar Subway restaurant in Cook, but these days if you see her in there, it’s as a consultant or a satisfied customer.
That’s because last week Chris Verhel became the new owner of the Subway franchise, and for both Ojanen and Verhel, it was a matter of patience finally paying off.
Ojanen had been in the thick of running the restaurant until her husband, Tom, retired in Nov. 2020, and she hired a manager so that she could take more time off. And she eventually put the shop on the market, waiting for just the right buyer to come along.
Verhel, from Hermantown, was enjoying his work in law enforcement in Duluth before he was injured on the job and ended up taking early retirement at 35. Too young to retire, he pivoted into opening a couple of small businesses, but in the back of his mind there was Subway.
“I’ve wanted to get into Subway for many years, but it’s definitely a hard business to get into,” Verhel sad. “The people who have them, they don’t want to sell. They’ll buy more before they get rid of the one they have.”
Verhel and Ojanen connected for the first time about six months ago and started exploring the possibility of a sale. Everything fell into place, and last week they signed off on the deal and Verhel met the staff for the first time.
“I’ve been very, very lucky that we’ve always had great staff,” Oljanen said. “I didn’t just call them my staff, they were my co-workrs since I was in the store every day with them.”
And Verhel is happy to have them.
“We sat down with all the staff last week to let them know what’s happening,” he said. “I didn’t want them to think that a new owner is coming in and is going to change everything and they’re going to be unhappy because that’s not what they want. We want staff to stay here and be excited to come back to work. Everybody took it really well, and it’s a fun group of people.”
But like most business owners these days, Verhel wouldn’t mind bringing a few more employees into the fold.
“One thing about the restaurant business someone told me once is that you never really stop hiring people,” he said. “You can be fully staffed, but somebody walks through that door with a lot of really great qualities, you might not be able to give them full-time hours but you can get them in the door. Lisa and Tom have established a great presence in the community, so people know this is a fun place to work and not terribly demanding. We want staff to be here long term.”
Verhel didn’t just buy a Subway, however. He also inherited a brand-new menu. While customers still have the option to build their own sandwich or wrap, the new “Subway Series” menu features a dozen new sandwiches with ready-made recipes.
“It’s a good thing,” Verhel said. “Instead of ordering a sub and the employee waiting for me to tell them what I want on it, now you have options where Subway has already put the recipe together. Just like if you were to walk into Wendy’s or McDonalds and you order a number two or a number three, you’re going to get it the way they make it. You still have the ability to make your own, but the big thing is just being able to come in and order that number one and having it done the way you know it’s going to be done every single time.”
That’s one aspect of buying into a franchise that has over 20,000 outlets that appealed to Verhel, as did walking into an already established store with steady clientele, room for growth, and a wealth of corporate resources to support him as he takes over. But with all of that, Verhel knows that continued success not only means getting to know his customers and providing consistent quality. In a small town like Cook, it means getting engaged with the greater community.
Verhel has already joined the Cook Chamber of Commerce, and he’s sponsoring a golf team from Nett Lake in the men’s league at Vermilion Fairways.
“My goal is to be a big part of the community, and that’s giving back. It’s because I personally like being part of the community and Subway’s a big part of it, too. But my personal thing is getting to know people.”
He’ll still be doing some juggling between Subway and his other businesses, but the parents of one of his close friends in Hermantown live here, and he’s already enjoying spending time here sitting around a fire at night on Lake Vermilion.
He has a little less to juggle these days with his kids, 22-year-old Easton and 17-year-old daughter Aveya, since they’re both more independent.
“Aveya is very smart. She wants to be a neuroscientist. She will often send me text messages that I have to Google the words because I don’t know what they mean,” Verhel laughed. “My son’s the same way, but he doesn’t want to be a neuroscientist. He’s looking more at business ownership.”
Overall, Verhel feels like this is a perfect fit, and he can’t wait to begin meeting customers and keep Subway going as an integral part of the Cook business community.