After debuting in summer 2021 with a location at the Shoppes of Kenwood, at 3112 3rd Avenue North, and following that up with a South Pasadena shop in summer 2022, Gateway Subs is set to open its third sandwich shop in less than two years.

The newest Gateway Subs will be located at 5931 4th Street North, next to a Curaleaf medical cannabis dispensary, and is on track to open in late August or early September, according to co-founder and co-owner Grant Strayer. Jenna Malowany of KW Commercial represented the tenant in the lease transaction.

At 1,843 square feet, “It will be the biggest Gateway Subs location,” he said in an interview with St. Pete Rising.

Just like the other two Gateway locations, customers can create their own sub or choose from one of 15 signature subs.

Keep it simple with the Plain Jane, which consists of up to two proteins (ham, buffalo chicken, grilled chicken, roast beef, or bacon) topped with mayo, provolone, lettuce, onion, and tomato.

Or try something with a kick by ordering The Brycer, which includes buffalo chicken, buffalo chicken salad, provolone, hot peppers, sweet peppers, lettuce, onion, crumbled jalapeño chips, and either B’s Spicy Ranch or H’s Hot Garlic Buffalo.

All subs come on a fresh baked hoagie roll or can be prepared in a salad wrap. Toasted breakfast croissants are also available. 

The 4th Street shop will also be the only location with a vent hood, which will allow the restaurant to cook food, such as bison meatballs, in a 12-gallon steam kettle.

“Each location was designed to do something a little bit different,” Strayer said. “The first Gateway Subs is in the city’s cultural center and is a fun local sandwich shop. It feels kind of grungy in there. The second Gateway is a little bit nicer; we spent a little bit more on it. It’s got higher traffic with the SunRunner right there … and 20,000 cars pass by every day.”

The 4th Street North location, Strayer said, will offer even more exposure for the Gateway Subs brand, as about 28,000 cars pass by every day. “It’s one of the most trafficked places in all of Pinellas County,” he said, “just that one corridor.”

In addition to opening a third location, Gateway Subs plans to start promoting its coffee offerings in a bigger way. “We roast our own coffee,” he said. “Everyone knows us as a sandwich shop, but we are trying to push the coffee thing a little harder.”

And that’s not all, Strayer said. “The new location will have an entire back area for catering prep. I want to start bottling our own cold-brew coffee and sauces, doing our own juices … make it a commissary kitchen, a central command hub for all things that Gateway produces.”

Seating will be limited to about 20-25 customers, but that’s typical for the brand. “All Gateways are pretty small,” Strayer said. “Most of our orders are to-go, anyway. If we do 100 orders per day, 75 of them are to-go because it’s quick and easy. That’s how it was designed.”

Strayer launched Gateway Subs alongside his friends and business partners Henry Love, Brandon Ruditz, and Morgan Zook. Ruditz told St. Pete Rising in 2021 that the brand was inspired by two Boca Raton sub shops, Laspada’s Original Hoagies and V&S Italian Deli, both of which serve oversized gourmet subs on freshly baked hoagie rolls.

“No one is going to leave our shop hungry,” Ruditz said. “You’ll get your money’s worth.”

To stay up to date, follow Gateway Subs on Instagram at @gateway.subs.