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Politics & Government

Poll: Does a Subway Franchise Fit Centre Street?

A Subway franchise will be opening in March at the intersection of Centre and Corey streets, but business owners, neighborhood council and police have put the business on watch already.

 

At Tuesday night's West Roxbury Neighborhood Council meeting was Paul Gibbs, spokesperson for Subway franchise owner Jigar Patel. He announced plans for a new Subway restaurant at the corner of Corey and Centre streets, across from the .

Patel is looking to operate his business between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The space is about 1,800 square feet with approximately 36 seats.

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This would be Patel’s first franchise venture. His franchise is scheduled to open in March.

“His goal is to become part of the neighborhood and become part of the fabric to West Roxbury’s main street,” said Gibbs.

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Right now, trash pick-up is scheduled for once a week behind the building’s lot, but that didn’t sit well with council member Judy Settana.

“Is once a week enough? There are residents back there and I’m afraid the food would attract rodents,” said Settana. “I’m not comfortable with once a week pick-ups.”

Property Manager George Homsi clarified that at the moment, there are bi-weekly pick-ups because volume is low. With the anticipation of Subway, he has added another trash container and pick-ups will transition to a weekly schedule. Frequency would increase depending on the need.

 co-owner Eric Battite questioned if Subway’s chosen location fits in aesthetically with the mom & pop businesses.

“He’s a young entrepreneur, just like I was, and he wants to start a business,” said Battite. "I only question if that’s what we want in the neighborhood? I believe in completion and if that’s what the people want, then so be it. I just wanted to raise that concern.”

Sgt. Jameson was against the franchise placing their business in the neighborhood center because parking is already scarce and would encourage double parking, which would affect traffic. He recalled last week having to remove approximately 10 double parkers from the Subway location in Roslindale Village, affecting the flow of traffic onto Cummins Highway.

“This isn’t South Boston. The residents of West Roxbury won’t tolerate it,” said Sgt. Jameson.

The meeting was held at the . Also discussed at the meeting was McDonalds wanting to extend its hours on the VFW Parkway.

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