Ricky's Sub Shop Celebrating 25 Years as a Dearborn Favorite

Rick Freij loves to make people smile.

He's been doing it for 25 years by serving up freshly made deli sandwiches at his shop on Greenfield Road six days a week since opening in 1988.

Ricky's Sub Shop, Dearborn's best kept secret, will celebrate its anniversary in October.

"It has been an amazing ride," Freij said. "I have this most gracious gift of owning my own business and being successful at it. It's the American Dream to work and collect payment off of your own sweat equity."

Freij comes from a family of entrepreneurs, and said he always wanted to own his own restaurant after watching his brothers grow their individual businesses.

"My family always worked for ourselves. The value of hard work was instilled in me by my parents at a very young age, and I am thankful everyday for that," he said.

After attending a Subway restaurant franchise recruitment seminar at the age of 23, he knew he wanted to open a sandwich shop.

"I remember seeing this Subway gal with a green smock holding a tray of fresh buns with the slogan 'we bake our own bread.' I thought, 'This is a great idea. I can do that!'" he said.

Freij drew up sketches with the help of his brother and a family friend who had experience working in a deli. Soon, Ricky's Sub Shop was born.

The restaurant offers a variety of grilled Philadelphia steak and cheese sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, pizza sandwiches, deli sandwiches, and veggie and seafood sandwiches, a long with chips, french fries, onion rings, cold salads and homemade desserts.

"Not much from the menu has changed in the past 25 years," Freij said. "We try to keep it simple and affordable by offering quality food you can't find anywhere else."

Freij said a point of pride for the restaurant is its halal ribeye steak and fresh bread baked daily.

"The bread is baked every night and delivered to the store before we open," he said. "We have people coming in all the time looking for that ribeye, too. Thank God for the cows and the farmers!"

And while he doesn't do much advertising, the restaurant still maintains a steady flow of customer traffic from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"There's no secret to our success. It's due mainly to the quality of food, the cleanliness of the facility, and our customer service," Freij said. "I believe that you can't be in the food business just for money. It's about showing up and being honest with your customers.

"These guys who flip restaurants just to make a buck won't be successful in the long run. You have to build up a level of trust with your customers by delivering a product that tastes good without skimping on the quality."

Freij runs the restaurant together with his wife Susanne and seven other employees.

"I've spent half of my life in this business, and I love it. No other country on earth allows you to be a entrepreneur or a bum," he said. "It's been amazing to see customers coming back every year. Some of them started with us 25 years ago, and now their kids come here to eat. It's a great feeling."

Anwar Alefnain said he comes to Ricky's at least once a week with his friends. It was the first stop on his list after fasting for a month during Ramadan.

"I love the steak and cheese sandwich," he said. "I discovered this place a year ago and I just keep coming back."

While he acknowledges that the location isn't ideal for such a popular eatery, Freij says he has no plans to move.

"I can get a bigger place and expand, but I like to keep overhead costs down," he said. "This location is manageable for the amount of customers we receive. Plus good help is always hard to come by."

Ricky's Sub Shop is located at 6460 Greenfield Road, and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.