The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A new trend in fast food has reached Flin Flon with Monday's opening of the Subway Cafe. The outlet replaces the traditional Subway restaurant with an emphasis not only on sandwiches, but also specialty coffees and baked treats. 'This is basically a sandwich shop and a coffee house,' says co-owner Rajpal Dhillon. This is the first Subway Cafe outlet in Manitoba and among only a handful in all of Canada. It took two weeks of renovations to complete. Dhillon, who along with his wife purchased the local Subway in 2011, had planned to renovate the restaurant. With the option of converting to Subway Cafe available, the entrepreneurial couple saw a good fit. 'We thought this would work well for this town,' said Dhillon. Customers stopping by for Monday's opening noticed not only a broad selection of coffees, baked goods and fruit smoothies, but also a stylish new d_cor. Ambiance Softer, darker colours and mini spotlights over the service counter bring a warm ambiance not normally found at a fast food restaurant. Dhillon called the early response 'very positive.' 'People are saying that it looks great in here, the d_cor is very nice and that it's nice to have something like this here,' he said. Jenna Wiwcharuk was among the customers enjoying lunch on the first day of the new restaurant. 'I think it looks great,' she said. 'It looks a lot more modern.' The first Subway Cafe opened in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2008. By 2011 there were 15 in North America and one in Canada, but Dhillon said there are now between eight and ten locations in this country. In a 2011 article on QSRweb.com, Cindy Kopazna of Subway's research and development department said d_cor, layout and beverage offerings separate Subway Cafe from traditional Subway locations. 'The set up is essentially the same (as a regular Subway) _ customers can still come in and order their sandwich the way they're used to,' she said. 'But Subway Caf_s include some baked goods and dessert items and a full line of espresso-based creations.' Dhillon and wife Pin, who live in Winnipeg, also own Subway locations in The Pas and Thompson, and five outlets in Winnipeg. They now plan to convert one of their Winnipeg restaurants, located near Red River College, into a Subway Cafe.
