First, Gregg Hill resurrected the Minit-Mart on Holland's south side.
Now, the guy who reopened the iconic Washington Square neighborhood market last month, has brought back another familiar brand in the sub sandwich industry to the local audience.
He debuted a Blimpie sandwich shop inside the Minit-Mart on Tuesday morning.
It marks the return of Blimpie, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary of being "America's Sub Shop" this year, to the Holland area for the first time in almost five years, Hill said.
"There used to be two of them, but it has been five years since we had a Blimpie in Holland," he said. "There is one in Allegan and another one in Zeeland, but, until now, there hadn"�t been any of them in Holland for a long time.
"A lot of people are excited about it."
Hill chose Blimpie, he said, because it offered something different than the usual suspects.
"I did some research on affordable franchises and there's a Subway on every corner," he said with a laugh.
The sub shop, located at the rear of the newly refurbished Minit-Mart, is strictly for takeout orders. Its hours of operation are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.
It"�ll be staffed by 10 people: One manager and nine other new employees.
The completion of the Blimpie franchise puts a ribbon around the Minit-Mart revitalization project, which Hill spearheaded after purchasing the dilapidated property.
So far, the response from customers to the restored building has been phenomenal, he said.
"It's exciting. We"�ve had just a great diversity of clientele coming in the store," Hill said. "Every day, we"�ve got new people checking it out. We"�ve had nothing but positive comments about it."
A grand opening celebration for the Minit-Mart and Blimpie shop are being planned for early August.
Franchise Ranking History
Franchise 500: #219 (2014), #198 (2013), #108 (2012), #221 (2011), #438 (2010),
America's Top Global: #90 (2012), #173 (2011)