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Subway retaurant opens on former service station site in River Grove
Shawn Purohit is the owner and manager of the new Subway at Grand Avenue and River Road. | Jon Langham~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 22, 2013 6:18AM
RIVER GROVE — Fresh out of college, an entrepreneur with family support has been able to put what he has learned in school immediately into practice.
Shaun Purohit, 24, recently opened up a Subway restaurant in the village. The new shop, at 8801 W. Grand Ave., is the first business he’s ever owned.
He opened on Feb. 6, and already he’s been putting in 12-hour days.
But when he leaves his business after a long day at work or returns to it to start a new day, he takes a minute to smile and admire what he has accomplished. He received a lot of help from his parents, who own numerous businesses in the Chicago area, but takes ownership of what has been built.
His parents own the land, which used to be the site of a service station. They decided to use it to help their son, who graduated from DePaul University’s business school in June. Still, after graduation, Purohit admits he would have preferred to take a break.
“I never had the opportunity (to take a break), but a lot of people don’t have an opportunity like this,” he said.
So he decided to go to Subway University in August to get the proper training to run his business. “After that we just started it up,” he said.
He’s happy with the location. It’s on the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and River Road, which attracts a lot of drivers. And the village is happy the land is no longer dormant.
River Grove Economic Development Director Ray Bernero said the new business is pretty cool.
“It’s exciting to see after how long that property has been vacant,” he said.
It’s also nice for the village to see more tax revenue coming in. “Our cut of the property tax is small, but every little bit ads up,” he said.
“Our goal is to generate sales taxes, which means the less we have to depend on single-family homes,” he said. “We don’t have the industrial base or commercial base like some of our neighbors but this helps us achieve that goal of taking the burden off the homeowner.”
Purohit’s goal is to expand on his current business. He wants four stores in five years. “Once you open one up it’s real easy to open up another, but you have to find the right location,” he said.
He knows his parents and family will be stopping in regularly to see how he’s keeping his new business up and appreciates it.
“I’m lucky because of my parents’ help, River Grove has been helpful and everything has just fell into place,” he said.
