PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — There are two new faces at Presque Isle’s Subway store — owner Khalid Qureshey and manager Summer Carroll — both of whom are striving to provide job opportunities for community members and a positive atmosphere for those who visit.
Qureshey and Carroll assumed their new roles after longtime owner John Dufour retired late this summer. Prior to moving to Presque Isle, Qureshey worked for 27 years as an employee or manager at restaurants such as Burger King, Long John Silver’s and IHOP, most recently in Maryland.
Now Qureshey is the owner of Subways in Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou, Fort Kent and Madawaska. After losing the IHOP location he managed due to COVID-19 restrictions and related challenges, Qureshey turned to Subway in hopes of rebuilding his future in the restaurant industry.
Once he visited Aroostook County, Qureshey knew that he had found the right place for himself and his family.
“It’s a quiet city,” Qureshey said, about Presque Isle. “The people here are friendly and welcoming. They say ‘hello’ and ‘good morning’ when they see you. That’s a rare thing to find in a larger city like Baltimore.”
Carroll recently returned to Presque Isle and to the Subway franchise after living in California for eight years. She first moved to The Star City in 2002 after visiting with a friend and realizing that she enjoyed the region. Carroll worked at the Caribou Subway until becoming manager of the former Fort Fairfield location in 2006.
When she was first hired as the new Presque Isle manager in late August, Carroll found out that the store had to close entirely on some days due to staffing shortages. She immediately began recruiting and now has 11 full-time and five part-time employees.
Both she and Qureshey are working to hire more people for the other Aroostook locations, which they said are facing similar shortages. The Presque Isle store, for instance, has begun opening at 8 a.m. again after briefly operating from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., but ideally needs five more full-time workers to be completely sustainable.
Carroll wants to not only emphasize wages and benefits but also create a friendly, positive work environment for new employees.
“I want every employee to come in and have a good day,” Carroll said. “One customer recently said, ‘At least you’re all happy and smiling,’ and I think that’s how it should be in a workplace.”
Despite Subway being a national franchise, Quershey and Carroll are striving to keep the small-town business feel that many customers have enjoyed. Most people thus far, they noted, have been supportive and welcoming of them and the new employees.
As he gets to know more people in Presque Isle, Quershey hopes to establish stronger professional and personal ties and help Subway continue to be an important part of the region’s economy.
“When I interviewed with John [Dufour] for this position, he asked, ‘What will you bring to the community?’ I said that I want to help the community develop,” Quershey said. “I know that a lot of people need jobs and I think we could provide good things for them.”
