Penn Station East Coast Subs continues to update the 35-year-old brand with the rollout of its PS 2020 initiative, which includes a restaurant redesign and menu changes among other additions. Nine restaurants are operating with the new menu and design and all units in the system now have the new menu.
“We expect to have more restaurants with the PS 2020 layout by the spring of next year,” says chain President Craig Dunaway. “We spent the better part of a year gathering data, interviewing guests and franchisees, and speaking with crew members about the new layout and our menu changes. From the data analysis, interviews and hours of observation, we knew we had something that everyone would embrace.”
The PS 2020 design offers an unimpeded view of employees making sandwiches and a more prominently placed deli case. The new design places both POS stations in the front of the restaurant which allows customers to place and pay for their orders in one spot. Customers pick up online and delivery orders in a different location within the restaurant, so customers do not have to wait in line to pick up their orders.
Penn Station’s revised menu includes the addition of cold sandwiches as well as wraps and salads. One new ingredient is multigrain bread. “We believe our grilled sandwiches have always stood out from the competition, as evidenced by the numerous local, regional and national awards we’ve earned over the years,” Dunaway says. “In today’s hyper-competitive environment, we saw an opportunity to be dominant in cold sandwiches as well. Penn Station has always had cold sandwiches as an option, but now we are offering new flavor profiles and ingredients and bringing our competitive edge to cold sandwiches. We were amazed customers didn’t realize we offered cold subs, but by featuring and highlighting them on the menu, this allows guests to fill all their sandwich needs.”
Founded in 1985, Penn Station has more than 310 locations across 15 states.