Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce

Entrepreneurs

of the Year

www.chillicotheohio.com

Mission statement: The Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce promotes economic and community development by providing services and addressing issues important to business.

Each year for more than 20 years, your chamber has honored from its ranks an Entrepreneur of the Year to recognize ther value-added contributions to our community and economy.

First husband-and-wife team named

Entrepreneurs of the Year

Tom and June Haynes built Subway empire

While maintaining their “day jobs,” the chamber’s newest Entrepreneurs of the Year, Tom and June Haynes, used family savings as collateral and personal sacrifices to begin their Subway franchisee business. Today, they are enjoying the return on their investment, risks and sacrifices.

The announcement of the award came at the conclusion of Thursday evening’s Annual Dinner of the chamber, featuring Jay Timmons, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers as the keynote speaker. About 265 were on hand in Shoemaker Center at Ohio University-Chillicothe to learn about the award, the first time in its 25-year history a husband-and-wife team has been honored.

Tom commuted 75 miles to Zanesville for 16 years to keep his health care position while June was a local retail store manager until the late 1990s when she took over day-to-day management of the restaurants. Both retired in 2005 with Tom overseeing the Subway operations. The two have been married 46 years.

The Subway odyssey began when his mother offered her savings account as collateral for a loan to buy two local bankrupt franchises in 1991. Both stores had been closed for six months. They first opened the Subway in Shawnee Square, and moved it in 2000 to Zane Plaza. The Western Avenue store re-opened in 1992.

 “Times got very tough; we didn’t do enough business to pay all the bills. No one told us about payroll taxes, workers’ compensation costs, sales tax, etc. Thank goodness we didn’t quit our full-time jobs,” they wrote.

They credited Kingston National Bank with taking a chance on them – twice. First for the loan to get started and second for an operating loan to keep them going during the tough times. The tough times began to end in 1998 when Subway began using in their advertisements the story of Jarrod who lost 200 pounds to promote healthy eating habits and its low-fat subs. Sales immediately increased.

That spurred them to purchase the franchise in the Pickaway Crossings Shopping Center in Circleville with the help from a loan from Huntington Bank. With help also from Citizens National Bank, the Hayneses opened their Subway on East Main Street in early 2005, then another one inside the Walmart store later that year. In 2008, restaurant No. 6 opened at High and Orange streets. More than 60 are employed at the six stores.

“When we opened that first store, we had very little capital, but a lot of dreams. We could only afford to hire two employees, not counting family. We had no experience in the fast-food world and the issues associated with it, but we did have a lot of determination and stamina to succeed,” they said. That determination and stamina were rewarded Thursday evening with the chamber’s prestigious Entrepreneurs of the Year award.

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