With two Subways in Castlegar, plus many other eateries, it takes something to stand out. For Uptown Subway (across from Canadian Tire) co-owner and manager Jwalant Raval that something is great customer service and a few other extras such as a coffee bar and one of the only drive-through locations around.
“Business is excellent,” said Raval. “We have the best location in town here with the highway and the (Castlegar Community) Complex in the back.”
The Uptown Subway is a big supporter of local sports in the community.
“We usually sponsor the teams,” he said. “We offer 20 per cent discount for all the athletes and 10 per cent discount for students. So everybody comes around here.”
Of course, Subways are known for their healthy menus, which is great for feeding young athletes.
“People love to do healthy choices,” said Raval. “We also have different menu items. Right now we have egg salad sandwiches, which is a new addition for Subway.”
One of the touches that makes the Uptown Subway unique is the coffee bar.
“We have specialty coffees like lattes,” he said. “Chai Tea lattes are really popular. We’re the only Subway around here that does it. We also have fruit smoothies. We have several different flavours that people can mix and match like wildberry, mango, strawberry. We also have Iced Mochas that are very popular all year round.”
The Uptown Subway also features a breakfast bar where the sandwich artists make eggs with onions, green peppers and more in front of the customer.
“Another thing is that at this store we do breakfast all day long,” said Raval. “A lot of people come around later in the day and want breakfast and we have it.”
The location has also just added personal pizzas and offers cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, and more.
“We get the pizza shell and then for $4.99, customers can add whatever toppings they want,” said Raval. “Onions, greenpeppers, olives, whatever. We toss it in the oven and it’s ready in two minutes.”
The store is open early in the morning at 5:30 a.m. to accommodate the morning mill crew. “We have extended hours,” he said. “Most Subways are open at 7 a.m. but we open at 5:30. Weekdays we are open until 12 midnight. On the weekends we open until 2:30 a.m. for the bar rush.”
Raval owns the shop along with his parents. “We bought this location four years ago, in 2008,” said Raval. “Our whole family moved down here from Edmonton.”
Raval finished his Bachelor of Administration at the University of Alberta and was looking for something to get into.
“I just finished my studies there,” he said. “My parents decided to buy a business and get me practical knowledge. So they got me hooked up here.”
Raval enjoys working with customers and helping people out.
“I like the whole customer experience and meeting with all kinds of different people,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to meet people and build up my knowledge in my field.”
