Hungry students around Johnston Student Center will find new food options in the absence of previous tenant Burger King.
The center's second floor now houses Subway and will also host a soon-to-be-opened Seattle's Best Coffee on the opposite end of the floor.
Franchise co-owners Scott Hillyard and Melanie Morris estimated that about 1,000 customers ate at Subway on the first day of classes, including 200 customers per hour at lunchtime.
"It's been extremely busy here," Hillyard said.
The campus location is the 16th Subway franchise for the pair, adding to eight they own in the New River Valley area and the seven around Harrisonburg. The Seattle's Best Coffee franchise, set to open Sept. 7, will be Morris and Hillyard's first.
Virginia Tech's University Unions and Student Activities, which controls the Johnston Student Center space, awarded the location in May. The location had last been bid on in 2002.
Six offers, including ones from franchises of Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, Einstein Brothers Bagels, and Seattle's Best Coffee, LLC were considered when the bidding process was initiated in the spring of 2008.
The deal is effective until Aug. 31, 2014, with 2-year renewal options following the initial five-year period.
As a part of its agreement, the franchises will pay Tech a commission on sales, ranging from 10 percent to 12 percent, depending on sales.
Sales numbers of up to $800,000 require the franchisees to contribute 10 percent to the university, while $800,000-$1 million requires an 11-percent contribution.
It reaches the maximum 12 percent if franchise sales exceed $1 million.
Julie Walters-Steele, director of UUSA, said the move to Subway has received strong support from students.
"We've received no complaints that the Burger King's gone," Walters-Steele said. "People were looking for fresher, healthier options in there."
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This is interesting. I like this fresh look on this interesting campus issue.
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Haha, Anonymous you wouldn't happen to be Gordon Block would you?
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Fresher, healthier options is an ironic statement when you consider the entire dining situation on campus. If healthier options are wanted then why doesn't VT start with it's own dining halls? Essentially what happened here is that BK was outbid, plain and simple however UUSA is attempting to spin this into a "what students want, they will get." Any student knows that GBJ houses the only food option on that side of campus. You are pretty much guaranteed good business as long as your prices are not inflated. Adding insult to injury is replacing one coffee bar with another, the least they could have done is let two different franchise owners operate in GBJ. This would have allowed for some healthy competition.
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Healthier options? Go eat at West End Market...
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Can you use your meal plan there? Or is it just cash/credit card?
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