Suburban Sandwich Shop Stack Subs Takes Aim at Downtown

Family-owned and -operated sandwich eatery Stack Subs originally opened in August 2012 on South Union Avenue in Lakewood before spawning a second shop in Belmar at 420 South Teller Street. Now owners Rick and Ann Koerner are taking aim at the big city and will open a new Stack Subs in mid-September just off the lobby of the Guaranty Bank & Trust building at 1331 17th Street.

The Koerners have been running Stack Subs Belmar for three years (the original location on South Union eventually closed because of a redevelopment clause in their lease), and while they love Lakewood, they're ready to expand their sandwich business to Denver. The couple's two children, Jenna and Caden, help out as well. “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” Rick says about the growth of Stack.

While exact lunch and dinner hours have not been set, the new location will offer something new: breakfast service, starting at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday. A new line of breakfast sandwiches, as well as espresso and gourmet coffee made with Ink coffee beans, will join the existing sandwich roster.

Although it’s too early to tell what the LoDo customers will want most in terms of menu options, the Koerners plan to offer an ever-changing selection of new specials such as a sandwich of the month and special soups, desserts and milkshakes. Breakfast selections could also include pastries, croissants and burritos.

The new shop will also sport an outdoor patio that will accommodate about fifty guests. Busy downtowners who want to order ahead for pick-up will be able to place orders online to save time waiting in line. Stack also offers catering in the form of individual boxed lunches and group platters of classic and signature subs.

The Belmar location won our readers’ choice award this year for Best Sandwich Shop in Denver; Koerner says the secret to the popularity of his sandwiches is excellent bread, fresh, high-quality ingredients, and sandwiches that are "stacked" so that ingredients are uniform throughout, which means every bite tastes the same from beginning to end.

Stack Subs offers classic and signature sandwiches, which you can have toasted and topped with a variety of ingredients. Koerner notes that bestsellers are the Italian sub stacked with Genoa salami, mortadella, pepperoni, hot capicola and provolone cheese, and the signature Stack Sub, which includes roast beef, turkey, smoked ham, salami and Swiss cheese. The menu also offers vegetarian options.

Although Rick did not initially consider himself an entrepreneur, he and Ann both have MBA degrees and corporate backgrounds in the software industry. Rick calls it kismet, but they took a major leap of faith, said goodbye to the steady income of the corporate world and hello to building and running their own business. Lakewood residents will be happy to know that the Belmar store isn't going anywhere; operations there will be managed by longtime employee Diane Wilson.

The downtown location of Stack Subs is at 1331 17th Street. For more information, call 303-295-7827 or visit the company's website at stacksubs.com.