The "Sub King" Story

Gene, "The Sub King," of G&G Subs

 is pictured in the middle.

It was an ordinary day.  Just stopped in G&G to get a turkey sub for Carol and me for supper tonight.  Got to talking to Gwen, the last G in G&G, about how long she has been making subs.  Now this story goes way back, so I'll start at the beginning.  The year was 1961 and my dad had just told me at supper that night that I could have a job at the Acme Supermarket on North Queen Street if I wanted it. Wow!  I had been working at Grants Department Store at the Lancaster Shopping Center since turning 16 so I would have money to put gas in my car which I had purchased when I was 15 years old.  I think I was getting about a dollar an hour for my work at Grants and didn't seem to be making quite enough for all the driving I was doing.  Told dad I was interested and he gave me the details.  Seems he knew the guy who was the manager of the store and that guy owed dad a favor, so me getting the job was the favor.  Gave my two weeks notice the next day at Grants and went to the Acme to meet Mr. Bennett, known as "Doc" to just about everyone.  "Doc" must have been close to 7 feet tall or at least he seemed to be that tall to me.  Big guy!  We talked and set up a date when I would start.  When the time arrived I went to the Acme dressed in dress pants, white shirt and tie.  Looked just like all the other workers in the store.  They gave me a white apron, showed me how to punch in when I arrived and introduced me to Gene, the assistant manager who was going to be training me.  We hit it off right away.  He was a brash, loud guy who seemed to know everybody and anythingthing about everything.  Had a neat haircut that made him look like Ed "Kookie" Burns from the TV show "77 Sunset Strip."  I thought he was way cool, as did everybody else.  That first evening he ran a cash register and I was his bagger.  He thought he was really fast on the register, but I was faster with putting the groceries in the bags.  At the end of the evening he told me I was going to work out just perfect.  He loved people who worked hard and I was one who loved to work hard.  Anyway, it made the time go fast.  Next night he had me stocking shelves and he had a hard time opening the boxes fast enough.  In no time he and I were good friends.  He gave me some pretty responsible jobs and I didn't let him down.  Didn't take long before I was making really good money.  While my friends were still getting the $1 an hour, I was getting $2.32 an hour.  I can still remember the exact amount, since I couldn't believe it myself.  I was a member of the union, even though I was only part-time.  Had to pay pretty stiff union dues, but still made out very well with the high hourly wage.  In 1963 Acme opened a brand-new Supermarket on the Millersville Pike in Lancaster.  Really big place and Gene was made the assistant manager of the new store.  He was allowed to bring one employee from the old store with him and he chose me, even though I was only part-time.  We worked together well at the new store.  Some Friday evenings I would arrive from Millersville State Teachers College, where I was a student, about 4:00 PM for the evening shift which lasted until 10:00 PM when the store closed.  If an evening crew worker called in sick Gene would ask me if I wanted to go home until midnight and come back to stock shelves with the night crew.  Never turned him down since I didn't have to work all day Saturday.  I finally quite Acme in 1965 and lost track of Gene until sometime in the mid-80s.  One day I went into a store at the corner of North Franklin and Hamilton Streets called G&G to get a sub.  By now I'm sure you have figured out that the other G in the name of the store was Gene.  What a time we had reminiscing about the "Good Ole Days" at the Acme.  Then I realized that his wife Gwen had been a student a few years back where I taught high school.  Great reunion that day with a great turkey sub.  Gene and Gwen had married in 1980, opened the store in 1981 and shortly after that had a son named Derek which happened to be the name of my oldest son.  Over the years I have been back many times for my subs.  They make the best subs in the world you know!!  Don't know why I love them soooo much, but I do.  Buns are large and always fresh.  Put plenty of mayo on my turkey sub with piles and piles of turkey.  Plenty of onions, cheese, tomatoes, and the best lettuce you'll ever eat.  Why?  I guess it is the way that they slice it on their meat slicer that makes it so good.  As Derek grew older, he started to help make the subs along with his mom and dad.  Then one day in 2006 Gene died.  Tough for the family, but also for all of Gene's customers who loved him so much.  His son Derek has taken his place in the shop making the subs, and they are as good as ever, but a sub made by Gene was extraordinary.  Derek recently started making soups and specialty sandwiches for sale on Thursdays and Fridays.  These are in addition to the 17 subs listed on their menu board.  Subs called the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Luau, The Lebanon, The Super Cheese, The Super Duper and the G&G Special are sold along with the regular subs such as the Italian, Ham, American, Tuna and Turkey, my favorite.  All the subs are made on 12" Amoroso rolls which are delivered daily.  Hey, check out the photos below while I head to G&Gs for another Turkey Sub.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Gene on the far right in his store in the early 80s.

Sign on the corner that still remains the same.

Store as it appears today.

Derek making a sub for one of his customers.

Final result!