If you’ve ever eaten at a Subway restaurant in Santa Maria, Orcutt, or Guadalupe, chances are it’s owned by Amit Sarin. He; his wife, Reshmi; and his father, Vishaw, are franchisees of Subway and own several restaurants in Northern Santa Barbara County. They operate as a company in Santa Maria.
Immigrating with his family from India’s capital, New Delhi, to San Bernardino in 1997, Amit’s first job was a “sandwich artist,” or sandwich maker, at a family-owned Subway.
Not long after, Amit got married to his current wife. In short time, Amit, his wife, and his father were working for Subway. He purchased a restaurant in San Bernardino and applied to be a franchisee. After completing franchisee training, Amit formally became one in 2004.
Two years later, Amit and his family moved to Santa Maria, where he opened several Subways. He won’t say how many he owns, but the newest one recently opened in Guadalupe.
It’s a fast growing chain of restaurants. In fact, it was the fastest growing franchised restaurant in 2014, according to Entrepreneur Magazine. It’s hard to not find a Subway restaurant in the U.S.
One of the greatest aspects of the Subway franchise system, according to Amit, is that it provides an opportunity for workers with humble beginnings to eventually become an owner, provided that they’re willing to put in the time and effort. This is exactly what he did.
“That’s one key thing in the company, everyone was once a sandwich artist,” Amit said, adding that he tells this story when he trains new employees every week.
As a busy franchisee, Amit’s work day is divided between working out in the field—going to his various restaurants, making sure everything’s up to par, and engaging customers.
The other half is comprised of what he called “administrative work,” which is comprised of training, accounting, taking conference calls, and other tasks.
It’s the life of a man whose business is making tasty submarine sandwiches.
The company doesn’t just make and serve sandwiches, but soups, salads, and even breakfast.
Amit’s favorite is the roasted chicken. He said he hasn’t tried anything on the menu that he dislikes, but he hasn’t tried all of the sandwiches yet, either. Amit told the Sun that he doesn’t eat beef.
But, for him, that just means more for the customers. He and other Subway owners in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties—which includes more than 50 restaurants, according to Amit—are participating in the “You share we share” campaign whereby they’ll donate a portion of their summer profits to a nonprofit.
From April 15 to Aug. 31, Subway is donating up to $10,000 to a Santa Barbara County food bank for every 1 percent increase in weekend sales.
The new Guadalupe restaurant, which is celebrating its grand opening on the weekend of June 5 and 6. There, Amit’s throwing a party with sandwich-eating contests, giveaways, buy-one-get-one-free specials, and face painting. The festivities will run all day on both days and, of course, everyone is invited.
Guadalupe’s new Subway is located at 253 Guadalupe St. Learn more about Subway franchising at subwaydevelopmentgroup.com/faq.html.
Highlights
• Marian Cancer Care at Mission Hope Cancer Center is getting positive peer reviews. The cancer center announced on May 28 that it was named a Screening Center of Excellence by the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA). The Washington, D.C., nonprofit recognized the Marian Cancer Center for its proactive screening program for people with a high risk of developing lung cancer. The minutes-long screening produces detailed images that can help detect the cancer in its early stages.
• Ever wanted to know how to run your own business but not sure where to start? Santa Barbara-based nonprofit Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) is holding a free self-employment class on June 10 from 6 to 7 p.m. in Lompoc. However, to receive the exact location, one must send an RSVP to attend. The one-hour course is facilitated by program coordinator Claire Anderson and is designed to help determine readiness for WEV’s self-employment training course beginning in September.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 4-11, 2015.