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newlenoxpatriot.com DINING OUT
the New Lenox Patriot | April 6, 2017 | 23
The Dish
Submarine City not just another sandwich shop
Late-night hours,
diverse menu set
restaurant apart
from competition
Max Lapthorne
Contributing Editor
Back in 1978 late-night
snackers had a tough time
finding places open past 10
p.m. not named White Castle.
Then came Submarine
City.
Ted and Tom Gatses
opened the first Submarine
City location at 1130 S. State
St. in Lockport in 1978 and
expanded to a second restaurant
at 9573 W. 144th Place
in Orland Park just two years
later. From the start, the restaurant
was open late — 2
a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m.
on weekends — and the reasoning
behind it was simple.
“We said we could make
more money if we stay open
more hours with the same
rent,” Ted Gatses said. “So
we stayed open late, and
then we ended up becoming
an after-the-bar place.
It stayed with us from the
first store, and we’ve never
closed early in 39 years.”
Ted was 28 years old and
working at a Holiday Inn
when he and his brother decided
to open Submarine City.
The idea for a sandwich shop
came from Ted’s cousin, who
helped bring the Mr. Submarine
chain to the United States.
“I wanted to do something
on my own,” Ted said. “I
looked at [the Mr. Submarine]
operation, and I decided
it wasn’t that difficult at
that time.”
Submarine City started by
selling only sandwiches and
chips, but it did not take long
for Ted to decide they needed
to separate themselves
from the increasing amount
of competition in the sub
sandwich market. The latenight
hours helped them stay
competitive, but in the late
1980s, Submarine City added
fryers and grills to gain
even more of an advantage
over the competition.
“I don’t think any of the
other places have fryers, as
far as the sub franchise chains
[go],” Ted said. “We wanted
to give the customers an option
if they wanted something
else like French fries or onion
rings or cheese sticks.”
The gyros ($5.89) —
served on pita bread with
gyro sauce, tomato and onion
— recently were added
to the menu and have been
popular with customers, as
have as several other grilled
items. The rib-eye steak
($6.99) is served on French
bread with grilled onion,
while the Philly cheesesteak
($6.59) consists of green
pepper, mushroom, grilled
onion and mozzarella cheese
piled onto French bread.
“We can get the same customer
in the store more times
now,” Ted said. “They might
come in one day for a sub,
and the next day they might
want a meatball sandwich
or a Philly steak. Instead of
getting him once or twice a
week, now maybe we’re getting
him three times a week.”
During the road construction
project on LaGrange
Road in Orland Park, many
businesses struggled, but
Submarine City has been
able to survive, thanks in
large part to its non-sandwich
menu items, Ted said.
“I think the grill saved us
during those times, because
we were getting new customers
and old customers that really
liked the variety,” he said.
While the grill and fryer
offers customers variety, the
sub sandwiches are what put
Submarine City on the map.
The Torpedo (prices vary by
Submarine City
Orland Park: 9573 W.
144th Place
Lockport: 1130 S. State
St.
Hours
• 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-
Thursday
• 9 a.m.-4 a.m. Friday-
Saturday
• 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Sunday
For more information …
Phone: Orland Park:
(708) 349-4909,
Lockport: (815) 838-
2080
Web: www.
submarinecity.com
size) and the Depth Charge
are the most famous of the
sandwiches. Ted even trademarked
the names of the two
soon after introducing them.
A Torpedo is a ham lovers
dream as it comes topped
with ham, spiced ham and
hard salami, as well as the
lettuce, onion and tomato
included on every sub. The
Depth Charge gives a bit
more variety, featuring a
combination of beef, ham,
turkey and cheese.
The meat on every sandwich
is sliced fresh. And all
the bread is delivered daily,
rather than being parbaked
in store.
“My main focus is quality
on the food, [which] consists
of the bread, the produce and
the meats,” Ted said. “They
have to be super-fresh.”
Making sure every item on
the menu is as fresh as possible
is a main priority for
Ted, but he also is conscious
of the customer’s experience
while visiting the restaurant.
“The service you give the
customer and the friendliness
of the place … those are
the things that [have] kept
me in business for almost 40
years,” he said.
The Depth Charge (prices vary by size) is one of Submarine City’s most popular menu
items. Photos by Max Lapthorne/22nd Century Media
The gyros ($5.89) were introduced recently at Submarine City and have become a hit with
customers.
Whether it is staying open
late for the post-bar rush or
bucking convention by offering
gyros and hamburgers,
Submarine City is all
about being outside of the
box. Even the restaurant’s
slogan “under 100 billion
served” is a show of Submarine
City’s departure from
the beaten path as it plays
off the popular McDonald’s
slogan of “over 99 billion
served.” But when it comes
to maintaining a successful
business over the course of
nearly four decades, it is all
about the basics for Ted.
“If you don’t have the basics,
you won’t stay in business,”
he said.