Couple Open Popular Sandwich Franchise Jimmy John's In Kalispell

Julie and Ryan Patzer's need to "do something different" has led to the opening of a new Jimmy John's franchise at 135 W. Idaho St. in Kalispell, where Quizno's used to be located.

"My husband, Ryan, has an engineering background and I managed commercial buildings, but we wanted something new, and this was it," Julie said. "My family has owned restaurant franchises before, and this was my father's idea." That idea began taking shape more than a year ago when the Patzers began talking with Jimmy John's about a franchise in Kalispell.

"We didn't really have any culinary experience before, but we just decided to jump in," Patzer said. "My parents used to own a Subway and my sister operated a Culver's, so there was that experience to draw on. I'm originally from Wisconsin and there were a lot of Jimmy John's there, so I was familiar with the idea." The restaurant opened Oct. 9, and according to Julie, business has been booming.

"It's been busier than we expected," she said. "It seems like the community really likes it, even though a lot of people aren't familiar with the product. But some of them are and people are coming in all the time and discovering us." Jimmy John's is a national franchise, more commonly seen in the Midwest, that specializes in submarine sandwiches made and delivered quickly. In fact, a long-standing tagline for the company has been "subs so fast you'll freak." Because a focus of Jimmy John's is fast delivery, Patzer said the restaurant serves only cold sub sandwiches, but that hasn't seemed to bother her customers so far.

"We try to make a sub in 30 seconds or less and deliver in 15 minutes or less," Patzer said. "A lot of my drivers are saying that people are surprised at how fast their food arrives." In addition to offering fast delivery times, customers can eat in the restaurant and enjoy its quirky d�cor of signs with witty slogans on the walls. The restaurant also offers catering and "lunchboxes" for business meetings, according to Patzer.

"We offer party subs, eight-inch subs, lunchboxes and we do a lot of catering," Patzer said. "We use all fresh ingredients, too. Everything is fresh, sliced in house and we bake the bread here, so it's only one to four hours old. In fact, we sell day-old bread for 50 cents a loaf, which is a pretty good deal." Although the Patzers didn't have any experience in the restaurant business, Julie said this is just the change of pace they were looking for.

"We're still learning a lot, but it's a lot of fun working with high schoolers and our employees. It's a fun atmosphere; a lot of work, but a lot of fun. And it's a whole lot different from my previous work atmosphere." Patzer said the majority of her 25 employees are high school or community college students who bring a lot of energy and excitement to the workplace.

"We're still getting a feel for things, but maybe we'll open another location in a few years. We're taking it one store at a time."

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