Employees of the new Jersey Mike’s Subs in Greenfield make a sandwich during a soft opening on Monday.
Mitchell Kirk | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD – The steady crinkling of paper as sub sandwiches were wrapped blended with customer commotion and the fizz of soft drinks cascading into cups.
Jason Horning, co-owner of the new Jersey Mike’s Subs at 1785 Melody Lane, stood by the entry taking it all in.
“It feels great,” the Greenfield firefighter said at the restaurant’s soft opening Monday evening ahead of the grand opening today.
Horning, his wife, Jama Horning; his brother, Eric Horning; and Eric’s wife, Heather Horning are behind the venture. Monday’s practice run represented the culmination of their efforts since signing a franchise agreement with the national restaurant chain about a year ago. Part of those preparations included Jama and Heather Horning participating in 10 weeks of training, one of which in New Jersey and nine at a training store in Kentucky.
“We had a lot of training going on before we even hired our first person,” Jason Horning said.
He said he’s grateful for the company support the restaurant is receiving, which includes corporate representatives working alongside the Hornings and their staff for the week.
The restaurant is the newest addition to Melody Plaza, owned by Greenfield-based Pride Investment Partners.
“This is a locally owned center, and that was one thing that I really liked, because I’m dealing with somebody that I know, that lives here in Hancock County,” Horning said.
The Hornings hired about 25 employees amid labor struggles that persist in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were so fortunate to get the number and the quality of employees that we got,” Horning said. “I’m just really, really happy with the turnout that we got, because everybody seems like they’re begging for help, and we’ve got a really great group here.”
Horning said he looks forward to practicing the Jersey Mike’s Subs tradition of giving as the franchise moves forward. The restaurant is already having fundraisers for Boys & Girls Clubs of Hancock County as well as a scholarship fund with the Hancock County Community Foundation in the name of Jason and Eric’s late father, Ron Horning, who led the county’s Boys & Girls Clubs for decades.
“He was always very involved in the community, and so we want to help carry on that ethic that he instilled in us,” Jason Horning said. “This is a great way to honor him by starting it off with splitting it between the Boys & Girls Clubs and his scholarship fund. Even after his passing, he can continue to help people get to college.”
Jersey Mike’s Subs is open seven days a week 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.
