LENNY'S SUB SHOP: PHILLY CHEESESTEAK IS THE SANDWICH STAR AT FRANCHISE SHOP

LENNY'S SUB SHOP: PHILLY CHEESESTEAK IS THE SANDWICH STAR AT FRANCHISE SHOP

August 8, 2013

Jerrod Cravotto had a franchise
agreement in hand to open a second
Lenny's Sub Shop in Oklahoma when the
existing Tulsa store fell in his lap.
"I was in sales for 15 years and was a
regular customer here and used Lenny's
to cater sales meetings, so I was familiar
with the product," Cravotto said.
"When I got the OK for a franchise, I
came here to talk to the owner, Chris
(Brown), and he said he was involved in
doing some other things and would sell
me his, too.
"So I still have an extra franchise that I
plan to put somewhere in the Tulsa area."
The Lenny's in Fontana Shopping Center
was the first in Oklahoma when Brown
and his mother, Ginny, opened it almost
10 years ago, and it still is the only
Lenny's in the state.
Lenny's Sub Shop was founded by Len
Moore in Memphis, Tenn., in 1979. It
emphasized fresh ingredients and a
Philly cheesesteak sandwich Moore
brought from his native New Jersey.
The Philly cheesesteak ($6.55) was
among the three items we had on a
recent visit to the cozy, sun-drenched
dining room on the east side of the
shopping center. We also had a cold
Italian sub ($6.55) and a cold roast beefand
provolone-cheese sub ($6.45).
The Philly is the star of the hot
sandwiches - the restaurant's overall
best-seller, for that matter - and it was
loaded with sliced beef, grilled onions
and an American/Swiss cheese blend on
a soft, warm sub roll. The sandwich had
a saltiness that I found came from the
cheese when I checked the nutrition
information.
"The Philly is popular, but lately we can't
seem to make enough meatballs for the
hot meatball subs, too," Cravotto said.
Diners have the choice of about a dozen
items to add to their cold subs. We
added lettuce, olive oil, tomatoes,
pepper, mayo and pickles to the roast
beef that was stacked high with thin slices of beef, and it was a
winning combination.
The Italian included four meats - ham, prosciutto, capicola and
Genoa salami - along with provolone cheese. This one came
loaded with onions, lettuce, olive oil, tomatoes, salt, pepper,
oregano, pickles and hot pepper relish. The pickles and the hot
pepper relish, which was more flavorful than hot, helped give this
sandwich a pleasing, complex flavor.
The regular sub-roll sandwiches are 7 1/2 inches and have a halfpound
of meat and cheeses. The 15-inch large sandwiches have a
pound. The cold sandwiches also are available on a Kaiser roll,
with one-third pound of meats and cheeses, and cost a couple of
dollars less than the regular subs.
Among other items available are chicken salad, tuna salad, chef
salad, hot dog and fresh-baked cookies.
Specials include a regular sub (hot or cold) or salad, chips and
regular fountain drink for $8.80, and a Kaiser sandwich with chips
and regular drink for $6.60.
A menu for ages 10 and under has a turkey-and-cheese 
sub, ham-and-cheese sub, meatball sub or hot dog with 
chips and drink for $3.95.
Cravotto said Lenny's still handles catering jobs of all sizes.
"We deliver all over, as far away as reasonable," he said. "We
recently delivered a job to Fort Gibson and another at an oil rig
near Beggs.
"I was able to keep almost all of the employees when I took over,
and that has been a life-saver."