Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppes chooses Gallery Eleven

The Dapps, who are market partners for the restaurant chain, have leased space in the Gallery Eleven retail center, 1111 E. Republic, which is nearing completion.

Lease rates there are between $17 per square foot and $20 per square foot, triple net, Spring-field Business Journal reported in January.

The 1,600-square-foot restaurant will be situated in the middle of a flurry of new retail activity in the area.

Gallery Eleven will have 20 other units, and across the street, Dynamic Earth owner Matt O’Reilly is building the 18,000-square-foot Green Circle Shopping Center.

Dagwood’s is slated to open in mid-May. Tom Dapp called Gallery Eleven an “A-plus location” for the restaurant because of its proximity to his target customers.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” he added, also calling attention to the nearby retailers. “The more places that people can shop, the more they’re going to notice the Dagwood’s.”

The Dapps, who also own Business Financing Solutions Inc. and TP Dapp and Associates, plan to sell about 64 more Dagwood’s franchises in Springfield, Joplin and Kansas City. Training for the other locations will take place at the Gallery Eleven store.

The restaurant features more than 20 sandwiches, soups and salads. Dagwood’s has headquarters in Clearwater, Fla., and is based on the “Blondie” comic strip character Dagwood Bumstead.

Among Dagwood’s Gallery Eleven neighbors will be Parlor 88, a lounge that is set to open in June under the ownership of Jay and Kristen Hickman.

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s March 8 free e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.