Who owns miami subs

The artist, however, could only paint in the nude. The solution was to cover the windows at night so he could work without alarming passersby, said Chwatt, laughing. While Perlyn ran the company, Boulis went off in another direction.

Boulis rushed down to the port. Later Perlyn said he remembers turning on the television and seeing Boulis screaming at the sheriff on the local news, every third word bleeped out. In , he was murdered gangland style—two cars boxed his car in, while a third vehicle drove by spraying him with bullets. Ironically, the hit took place in front of a Miami Subs restaurant.

Franchisees discovered they could make more money selling off their free-standing buildings with drive-thrus to banks, Chwatt said. The chain was languishing. Three years ago, investors in the chain, Chwatt and Bob Vogel, a multi-unit Burger King franchisee who has since turned over the Burger Kings to his son to run, bought the chain with the idea of restoring it to its former grandeur.

During its heyday, thanks to its electric pink and blue neon, it was a "beacon in the night," as Perlyn described it. The chain at one time had as many as units, but now was down to double-digits. He took a hard line with franchisees. His philosophy, he said, is "renovate, relocate or terminate. He also hired a former COO in order to have continuity with the past when the chain was flourishing.

Food, which was always their strong suit, was upgraded to include fresh ingredients and made to order. The Dom Perignon was reinstated. Ambrose Whyms, director of training and operations, said one of their biggest consumers of the champagne is the Miami Beach limo drivers who buy a bottle along with a wing bucket to have in the back of their limos for their special fares.

People remember Miami Subs in the good old days when it was the place to hang out. The challenge when resurrecting an iconic brand, Chwatt said, is knowing what to leave in and what to take out. You want it to resonate with fans, he explained, to not be stripped of everything they cared about. But you also want it to attract the next generation, too. Currently, about 60 percent of their business comes through the drive-thru.

In its heyday, the restaurant on Lincoln Avenue in South Beach attracted nationally known musicians after their concert performances, along with lesser-known celebrities, because it was open after concerts and after the bars and nightclubs closed. The franchisee who will accomplish that feat in grand style is Dieuveny D. Louis, who owns nightclubs, among other investments, and is one of the hip, young up-and-coming businessmen in South Beach.

Chwatt admits that when Pitbull was first mentioned as an investor, he had to ask his grown children who Pitbull is. Louis can see nightclub patrons going to The New Miami Subs Grill after the clubs close, because the look will be in line with a nightclub, but more mellow. The old look of neon arches discreetly resurfaces in the new prototype.

Miami Grill, a larger footprint that is more upscale and features tapas and appetizers; a full bar, rather than just beer and wine; and a sophisticated nightclub feel.

Its natural habitat will be airports and sports arenas, Chwatt said. The value of being in airports, especially for Latinos, is the entire family drops off the passenger, often staying to have a meal together. Nor is Pitbull a figurehead. He may be young, but Pitbull has a keen business sense. Pitbull, however, is young. After all, he just turned 32 this January. He learned about business through the school of hard knocks, he said, not formal training.

If you are easily offended by the clothed, but gyrating, bodies of young women, you may want to skip the video version in favor of the audio.

However, seeing Pitbull perform is half the fun of his music. Choose original, fajita, Italian or nacho style. Get them deep-fried and crispy, grilled or naked, where the wings are fried, but not breaded. Chauffeurs in Miami have been known to place a wing bucket, along with a bottle of Dom Perignon, in the backseat of their limo to welcome VIP guests.

Speaking of Dom, the higher-end champagne is returning as a mainstay on the menu. They may not sell a lot, but just seeing the bottles in a fast-casual restaurant is a talking point, if not a selling one. Gyros and chicken pita are top menus items, and now with the partnership with Pitbull, Cuban items have been added to the menu. Find financing and make deals at the best networking event in the restaurant industry. Restaurant dealmaking has never been more important! Edit Close. Toggle navigation Menu.

From the Mafia-ridden criminal underbelly to a particular white linen suit-clad Cuban-American rapper, this is the story of how a fast food sub chain came to be the epitome of the America's weirdest state—or, as Florida is sometimes known due to certain geographical and cultural features, America's penis. I should begin by disclosing earnestly that I loved Miami Subs.

I had my second birthday party there. Their kids meal was served in a bucket, and when I was a toddler there was a period of multiple months during which I wore that bucket atop my head every day.

That is true. Although I'm sure the whole menu was top-notch, I remember the fries—thick-cut, and a deep orange color from a seasoning blend that may have been inspired by Caribbean blackening spices—as particularly sublime. I was far from alone in my devotion to Miami Subs. During its peak, the chain was wildly successful.

By the mids, there were nearly locations, mostly in Florida. The clientele ranged from the average Floridian to the state's de-facto royalty. Everything about Miami Subs, from the decor and menu to the prolific expansion and profits, can be credited to Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis. Like most residents of Florida, Boulis came from elsewhere. Born in northern Greece, Boulis ditched the merchant marines in Canada, where he helped build a different sub chain, becoming fantastically wealthy by his twenties.

A young Boulis relocated to Key West, where in he opened up a restaurant called Mr. Apparently smitten with his adopted home, he eventually changed the name to Miami Subs and adopted the aesthetically Floridian theme. And although Miami Subs was Floridian through and through, Boulis paid homage to his own Greek heritage through the inclusion of gyros.

Boulis led the chain's impression growth, as well as its evolution from Miami Subs to Miami Subs Grill with the expansion of the menu. And as the business chain flourished, so did its founder's wealth. He owned a plane. He remained connected to the business through personal ties and consultancy roles, but his primary venture became a gambling boat company called SunCruz Casinos, which took patrons to international waters just outside the reach of Floridian gambling laws.

My peers will remember the annoying SunCruz jingle as well. After a bit of contentious political wrangling, state officials decided to force Boulis to sell SunCruz, due to a law barring non-citizens from owning commercial vessels.

Enter Jack Abramoff. Yes, that Jack Abramoff—the lobbyist and con man at the center of the Bush era's grandest corruption scandal. They falsified a wire transfer, the business relationship between the buyers and the seller went south, and tensions arose.

Jack Abramoff arrives at court to plead guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in the SunCruz scandal, On February 6, , as Boulis left his office in his BMW, two cars boxed him in, forcing him to stop. A gunman emerged from the black Mustang beside Boulis's car and shot the Miami Subs founder three times, killing him. Moscatiello had hired a hitman, and that hitman got the job done. In my youth, I had no idea that the actual Mafia—featuring operatives with names like "Big Tony" and "Little Tony"—was operating in my backyard, all up in the business of my French fries.

Miami Subs languished after Boulis's murder, whether causative or correlative.