PARKERSBURG -People often talk about history in the making. With the Broadway Sandwich Shop opening a second location on the north end, it's history in the moving.
The Broadway Sandwich Shop has been a mainstay in south Parkersburg since 1928. On Friday, the shop's owners Nathan and Patricia Eagle opened a second store at 2410 Dudley Ave.
"We're pretty excited," said Patricia Eagle, co-owner and operator.
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Photo by Jody Murphy
Patricia and Nathan Eagle have opened a second Broadway Sandwich Shop. The Broadway Sandwich Shop has been a southside mainstay since 1928.
The Eagles are confident the new shop will be a success.
Nathan Eagle, a graduate of Parkersburg South High School, said customers have often requested a store on the north end of town.
"People around town would come in and tell us they hadn't eaten here in so long they had forgotten about this place or wished we had one on the north end," he said.
The north end opening is a historic move for a shop considered a southside icon.
The Broadway Sandwich Shop was opened in 1928 by Andrew Valos, who saw the need to provide fast, inexpensive food to a booming workforce. South Parkersburg was home to the Viscose plant, Ames-Baldwin-Wyoming, a porcelain works, a foundry and other businesses all within a stone's throw of the sandwich shop.
In addition to the growing industries, residential areas grew. And the shop was across the street from Fairplains School where children could get hot dogs, chips and a drink for a quarter.
Many of the plants have long-since closed. School children are now served hot lunch and no longer allowed to leave campus.
But the sandwich shop remains a busy place. It's a source of fond memories for many who grew up on the hot dogs.
The shop remains family-owned. Nathan is the son of Sandy Smith, whose parents bought the shop in 1966.
The Eagles think the second shop will enjoy similar success. Nathan Eagle said the shop is has easy access for traffic, located right off Dudley Avenue.
"The (Parkersburg) high school is close, the (City) park is close by and the bus stop is right across the street," he said.
The expansion plan has been in the works for more than a year, the Eagles said. Things started picking up steam last summer when they located a suitable site for the shop.
They have spent the last month renovating the site, holding their grand opening last week. The Eagles have been advertising the shop through Facebook.
"It feel like forever," said Patricia Eagle.
Patricia Eagle said the menu at the second shop will remain the same - hot dogs cost 42 cents - as the southside shop, with one exception.
"Fries will be available here," she said of the Dudley Avenue shop.
"And we still carry Mister Bee," Nathan Eagle said.
