Penn Station (restaurant)
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| Penn Station, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Type | Corporation |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Key people | Jeff Osterfeld, Founder |
| Industry | Food |
| Products | Sandwiches, east coast subs |
| Website | www.penn-station.com |
Penn Station is a chain of East Coast sub restaurants found throughout the South and Midwest United States. The first restaurant was opened in 1985 by Jeff Osterfeld. Today, there are more than 160 Penn Station restaurants in the United States.
[edit] History
The concept for an East Coast sub restaurant came to Jeff Osterfeld soon after he graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In 1983, he opened "Jeffrey's Delicatessen" at Dayton Mall in Dayton, Ohio. It was during a trip to Philadelphia that he first realized the popularity of the cheesesteak sandwich. He began selling a version of the cheesesteak sandwich at his own restaurant, and it instantly became a huge hit.
He eventually expanded to Cincinnati, where he opened his first Penn Station restaurant in 1985. Originally, only four sandwiches were available, including the cheese steak. However, this first restaurant also offered fresh-cut french fries and freshly squeezed lemonade, two items that would become trademarks for Penn Station in the future.
By 1987, Osterfeld had opened several Penn Station restaurants in and around Cincinnati. He began selling franchises that year and restaurants soon opened in St. Louis, Louisville, and Nashville. Today, Penn Station has become a large chain across the South and Midwest, with over 165 restaurants currently open.
[edit] Menu
As with most sub sandwich restaurants, standard sandwiches such as club sandwiches, chicken teriyaki, and Italian are available. Penn Station, being an East Coast-style restaurant, offers their version of the Philly Cheesesteak. Also available is their popular pizza sub, among others. All sandwiches are made to order in front of the customer.
Recently, Penn Station has started to offer fresh salads, following a trend in providing healthier menu options. The salads, like the sandwiches, are made fresh, and many salads are simply a "bread-less" version of a particular sandwich.
Penn Station french fries are hand-cut and made fresh. They are fried in cholesterol-free peanut oil.
Beverages include Penn Station's trademark lemonade. Fresh lemonade is made every day from fresh-squeezed lemons. Freshly brewed iced tea is also available, as are Pepsi products.
For a short while, Penn Station tested soups at a few restaurants. There were two different kinds of soups a day, and every two days two different soups were available. The soups did not sell well enough, and the idea was abandoned.
Penn Station is also famous for "Cookie Tuesdays" where, during lunchtime, every customer is given a small cookie with his or her meal. There is also a larger cookie, approximately four times the size, offered any day of the week to purchase.
Newly offered items include Hot-Grilled Wraps, which, much like the salads, can transform any sandwich into a wrap.
