Businesses come and go in downtown Morganton, but one restaurant is defying the rules. Today, The Sub Club, 104 W. Union St. celebrates its 20th year in business.
With its no frills menu, The Sub Club keeps it simple and that keeps the business coming in.
Owner Dave Bollinger attributes his restaurant's success to the efficiency and consistency of the food.
And his customer base knows what to expect because Bollinger's kept the menu simple throughout the years.
"If it works, then it works," Bollinger explained. An overly complicated menu would have brought on higher expectations.
What it comes down to is preparing a few items, and preparing them well, Bollinger said. Reading the customers' wants is essential to creating a customer base.
Bollinger said each sub receives "lots of TLC" which reflects in the customer's food. And maybe that's the secret ingredient to what has made The Sub Club work for 20 years in Morganton.
The sub shop got its start late in 1989. Bollinger, 24 years old at the time, was working at a construction site in Burke County when he noticed the empty storefront on West Union Street.
Bollinger said he was ready to be his own boss. Taking matters into his hands, Bollinger refinanced his car and started renting the shop in December 1989.
"It feels good to have nothing and create something," Bollinger said. "We should be rewarded for that."
But Bollinger didn't come into the restaurant business empty handed. He had experience running a sub shop from his youth.
A Valdese native, Bollinger had spent years traveling as a musician with a reggae band. Eventually he ended up working at a deli in Albany, N.Y., where he learned the ins and outs of making sub sandwiches and running a restaurant.
"I picked up on it quickly and practically ran the restaurant," Bollinger said.
Sub artist Michael McDougal's been with Bollinger for most of the ride. He's been working at The Sub Club for 17 years and can't imagine it any other way.
"It's not rocket science," McDougal said of making subs. "If you're going to work with food, you've got to love food."
"It'd be kind of weird if we weren't here because we're friends with the customers too," McDougal said. He's not just taking orders, he's also asking about their families and children.
"It's nice getting to know your customers — you know them so well and they never have to order," Bollinger said. He's watched children grow up and start their own families, who continue to eat at The Sub Club.
When The Sub Club opened in 1990, business was booming, Bollinger said. Soon his staff had grown and Bollinger was able to work at the restaurant during the days, and as a musician at night.
"I love being the sole proprietor of my own business," Bollinger said. His sense of ownership is consistent and a driving force behind the sub shop.
Although, as Bollinger says, he didn't have to balance his checkbook for years, the economy's downturn has affected his business.
"The last couple years have been tough and everybody's feeling it," Bollinger said. "That's all my customers talk about."
Despite the economic hardships, Bollinger said he intends to continue making subs with the same consistency as the past 20 years.
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