Local resident buys Prior Lake Subway

Prior Lake American

Prior Lake resident Manny Perez had his eye on his hometown Subway at 16711 Duluth Ave. SE for the last three or four years.

Perez, who owns 10 Subways in Minnesota under the company JMLM Restaurants, Inc., tried to buy the store when the original owner put it up for sale.

Unfortunately, someone else got to it before he could.

"I've always wanted to own the store so when I was talking with the current owner at the time, they were ready to sell and we got into negotiations and I ended up purchasing the store," Perez said.

The sale was finalized in late December 2017. Perez put in a new leader and new team, with one of the original team members staying on. He said he's trying to have the store be more involved in the community.

"We've been active with the high school already, we have a fundraising program with them," Perez said. "I'm a Prior Lake Rotarian, so I'll be working with the Rotary Club as well from a donation standpoint and working within the community."

Perez said he's trying to upgrade the look of the store, as well as improve the drive-through and food.

"We'd like to be a valid option in the community for residents to come and get a good, healthy option," Perez said. "We'd like to be involved in the community as much as we can. We'd like to provide a great service for the community and we'd like to be one of the better employers in town, so that's kind of what our goals are."

Perez said his company will expand to more locations in the future.