Bruchi’s Adding Stores At Two Valley Locations

Two Bruchi’s Cheesesteak and Subs franchise restaurants are scheduled to open in the Valley this spring.

One will replace the 7-Eleven store that recently closed at Mullan and Mission. Another will open in a new building at N415 Sullivan Road.

Spokane-based Saja Inc. will operate both restaurants, set to open in May.

Bruchi’s owner Bruce Greene said that good business is spawning the growth. Bruchi’s is known for its specialty cheesesteak sandwiches.

The five-year-old, Spokane-based company began franchising about six months ago, he said.

Latah Creek Investment Co. bought the 27,000-square-foot Mission Avenue site, said Marshall Clark of Clark Commercial Real Estate, who is handling the transaction.

The Southland Corp., 7-Eleven’s parent company, will remove the underground gasoline tanks, Clark said.

Bruchi’s is leasing the property, and Saja is remodeling the 2,100 square-foot-building - a $65,000 project - under Bruchi’s direction.

Construction at the Sullivan Road site, owned by Marshall Clark, is scheduled to begin this week, Clark said. Bruchi’s will be one of four tenants in the 4,600 square-foot-building.

There are nine company-owned Bruchi’s restaurants in the Spokane area. Only one is now open in the Valley, at E11101 Sprague.

Other franchises have opened in Airway Heights, Kennewick and Yakima. According to Greene, future store sites include Pullman and, in Idaho, Lewiston and Moscow.

“It’s easier on us,” he said of expanding through franchise restaurants. “Opening up a store is a lot of work.”

The 7-Eleven convenience store shut down in December after its lease ran out. The Southland Corp. decided not to renew it.

Southland has about 5,000 7-Eleven stores, said Lane Premo, the corporation’s senior real estate representative. Occasionally letting stores close without opening others is “fairly routine.”