COLVILLE, Wash. — Mr. Sub may just be a small building off the main road in Colville, but it plays a big role in the community.
Customer Melvin Stafford said, “I like to say it’s a small town, so here, everybody knows it.”
Elaine Maddox and her husband, Brad own the shop. They are also high school coaches. Many of their students end up behind the counter.
Abigail Thompson has worked since she was 16. She told KREM 2, “We have so many regular customers that I know their order by heart. They come in and I am like, ‘OK grab me a six-inch TBC, I know what you are getting.’”
Those regulars though—had nowhere to go for about six months after a pipe burst in the building back in January. The hometown favorite was destroyed. Owner Elaine Maddox explained after the pipe burst, they gutted the entire place and started over.
The pictures of the damage show how one small pipe can create a disaster. One issue after another during construction kept them shut down for months.
Maddox talked about her employees during the closure saying, “We paid them until we couldn’t pay them any longer.” She said the whole town pitched in, businesses sold their products and let them use their kitchens. Even locals chipped in money to rebuild.
Maddox said, “There is just so many people that, I mean people that are in here. Everybody has been just incredible in trying to get us back together.”
The town helped them hold on—so they could reopen. Maddox said, “We didn’t realize how much we were missed until we were back here. It was so humbling it just makes you cry when you sit there and see the people and how happy they are to come in.”
Connie and Melvin Stafford waited a few days to come in—but assure us it was worth it. Melvin said, “This is one of my favorite spots to get a sandwich.” When talking about Maddox, he said “She didn’t tell me to say this, but you have an owner that is just fantastic.”
The owners say their staff stayed with them and their support system helped pull them through, which is not only a big win for the team but also for the entire town.
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