Penn Station East Coast Subs was started in 1985 by Jeff Osterfeld in Cincinatti, Ohio.  Jeff graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with the idea for his sub shop ready to go.  In 1983 he opened Jeffrey’s Delicatessen at the Daytona Mall in Daytona, Ohio.  After he took a trip to Philadelphia and realized how popular cheesesteak sandwiches were he started selling them in his restaurant.  He expanded to Cincinnati where the first Penn Station East Coast Subs was opened.  By 1987 he had opened a few locations around Cincinnati and he began to sell franchises.  There are currently 207 locations across the Midwest and the South.  In 2007 Penn Station East Coast Subs was ranked 196th in Entrepreneur Magazine’s list of top 500 International Franchises.  

Penn Station East Coast Subs currently serves 14 types of subs, but they originally started with just 4.  They are most well-known for the Philly Cheesesteak sub that they carry and the Dagwood is also very popular.  All the sandwiches are made to order and they are offered in 5 different sizes from the 4 inch kid’s size to the 12 inch large size.  They also serve hand-cut French Fries, fresh-squeezed lemonade that is made daily and they use fresh-baked sourdough bread as well.  Recently they started to serve hot-grilled wraps and they also serve salads that are a bread-less option of any sub.

Penn Station East Coast Subs offers restaurant franchise opportunities to those that meet the requirements.  A restaurant franchisee must have a passion for the restaurant industry and must be able to commit to being a full time operating partner.  The operating partner must have at least 3 years of restaurant management experience to qualify.  For a single unit the franchisee must have liquid capital of at least $150,000 and a net worth of at least $300,000. If a franchisee wants to commit to 3 to 5 units they must have liquid assets of $350,000 and a net worth of $600,000 or more.  For franchisees wanting to open more than 5 units the net worth must be $900,000 and the liquid capital must be at least $500,00. The total investment is estimated to be between $291,335 and $465,606 and this will include the $25,000 franchise fee that must be paid to Penn Station East Coast Subs.