New restaurant to open this month
Penn Station East Coast Subs started in 1985 with its first location in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over the years the business has grown to more than 300 locations across the country. The new spot in Bellevue will be the third to open in Nebraska. There are two Penn Stations currently open in Omaha – one near 80th & Dodge and the other near 168th and Center.
Kieran Fetter and Steve Wagner recently discussed the Penn Station brand with the Bellevue Times and why they are so excited to open in Bellevue. Fetter and Wagner are two members of a franchise group opening this location. Fetter hails from Ohio while Wagner is an Omaha native.
Wagner grew up in Omaha and graduated from Millard South. He started his food industry journey working at Hy-Vee for many years. Fetter’s background is in agriculture and he would be a 5th generation farmer. The family farms about 3,500 acres back in Ohio.
Fetter saw an opportunity to get into franchising in 2011. His franchise group researched a restaurant called Buffalo Wings & Rings. They liked what they saw and ended up opening their first Buffalo Wings & Rings location in 2013. Their restaurant franchise grew over the next several years, expanding to nine locations in four different states, including one near 120th & L Street in Omaha.
Fetter was involved with the Omaha location and traveled to Nebraska many times from 2017-2019. Over that same time, their franchising group started discussing other restaurants that they could branch out and diversify with.
Both Fetter and Wagner agreed that when they were looking at a new franchise, choosing Penn Station was an easy decision for their group. “The business had a stellar reputation with a commitment to quality and taste. It’s a customer-centric business, and there aren’t too many of those anymore,” Wagner shared. “I love seeing people and talking to people.”
Fetter, Wagner, and their franchise group have loved Bellevue from the start. Original plans were put in motion in 2019 to open a location here and they were about a month away from signing a lease. But then Covid hit and, like with many things, plans changed. However, the group never gave up on Bellevue. It was a market they wanted to be in. When asked, ‘Why Bellevue?‘, Fetter laughed and asked, “How much time do you have?”
“The short answer would be that Bellevue is a very diverse community, not just from a demographic standpoint, but in the food community as well. There are a lot of options. But then specific to our location – it is so close to both Bellevue University and Offutt Air Force Base.”
Wagner added, “Bellevue is a vibrant community with strong potential for growth. Bellevue has fantastic residents and businesses and we can’t wait to bring our delicious brand to the community.”
Penn Station is best known for its cheesesteak and it is their #1 best seller. Both Fetter and Wagner raved about the Penn Station cheesesteak as they were both customers of Penn Station first. “Absolutely, my favorite sandwich is the cheesesteak. It’s what sold me on investing in the Penn Station brand,” Wagner said. “Every time I ordered one as a customer it was always perfectly set, perfectly layered, and I loved it. Cheesesteaks can become an addiction.”
Fetter added, “We focus on quality over quantity. Our mentality is to take those items we offer and not just make them well – but make them really, really well.”
The group is looking at a September 18 opening day, depending on how construction progresses. The Bellevue Penn Station is located at 10531 South 15th St in Wolf Creek Plaza, right next door to Verizon and Gamestop. Penn Station will be open seven days a week: Monday-Saturday from 10:30am-10:00pm and Sundays from 10:30am-9:00pm. They are partnered with the three big delivery services Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash, and they also use Dinova and ezCater for catering services.
Penn Station in Bellevue is currently hiring for all positions. If you are interested in applying, you can do so at the Penn Station website: https://www.penn-station.com/careers.php or search for Penn Station Bellevue, NE on Indeed.com.
Photos of menu items provided by Penn Station East Coast Subs
