Subway returning to Clinton

Chris Berendt, The Sampson Independent, Clinton, N.C.
·2 min read

Apr. 29—Subway is returning to Clinton, which once was home to multiple locations but in recent years has been devoid of the sandwich restaurants. That will soon change.

Clinton City Councilman Daniel Ruggles made an announcement on Thursday, noting that the standalone building on Northeast Boulevard (U.S. 701 Business) beside Matthews Health Mart and across the road from Clinton Appliance — the location known by many as being the home to Hardee's many years ago — would soon house Subway.

Clinton Planning Director Mary Rose confirmed the news, saying that a permit had been issued for a Subway at the former Hardee's building at Jordan Shopping Center.

A timeline for the new Subway was not immediately known, but many shared their excitement to welcome back the eatery.

Subway restaurants have a bit of an on-again, off-again status over the years in Clinton.

At the end of 2019, one located in the Shamrock Plaza off Sunset Avenue in Clinton closed down permanently with another on Northeast Boulevard — a stone's throw from where the new location will be — was shut down for an indeterminate amount of time. The latter location was reopened following a remodel, but not as a Subway.

At the time, signs were posted for visitors at both Clinton locations, with the one at Shamrock on Sunset Avenue closed for good after a decade of service. While customers were directed to the location on Northeast Boulevard, within the Clinton Plaza Shopping Center, several signs posted there read "Closed for Remodel."

The same two Subway locations in Clinton were closed for weeks at the beginning of 2017 when they were seized by the N.C. Department of Revenue for nonpayment of taxes. At that time, the two Clinton locations, along with a third in Warsaw, employed about 28 people all together.

The location at Sunset Avenue, while it was a Subway, was on property owned by Flagship Retail Investments LLC of Waban, Massachusetts.

The standalone Northeast Boulevard location that was announced as the future site of Subway is similarly owned by Flagship Retail Investments LLC of Massachusetts, with its use listed as fast food restaurant.

Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.