Sandwich shop owners, fed up with problems in their leased location, find new home

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a new opening date for Colossal Sandwich Shop.

Terry Duncan and Jonathan Merrill, who own the Colossal Sandwich Shop, are ready for a fresh start after a year filled with roof leaks and other problems that almost forced them to close their business.

Now, they are getting ready to move to a new and larger location, a former Subway restaurant at 2500 Airport Freeway, also in Bedford.

“We are excited about moving forward and putting the bad stuff behind us,” Duncan said.

Last year, Duncan and Merrill dealt with ongoing roof leaks, broken water heaters, damaged equipment and other problems that started soon after they opened.

The problems got so bad that they sued their landlord, Sami Ebrahim. The case is still pending.

Duncan said the last straw came earlier this month when they were dealing with electrical problems which caused the lights to go out on their sign. The lights in the back of the shop also stopped working because water from the roof leaks got inside of the fixture, which meant they could not see to prepare the sandwiches after sunset.

Duncan described how he and Merrill opened the light fixture to replace the bulb and discovered mold.

Duncan said his attorney notified Ebrahim that they would no longer lease the space as of Dec. 31, and they plan to open in their new home on Jan. 8.

“It’s a lot of work right now, but it’s worth it,” Duncan said.

Ebrahim did not return calls from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram seeking comment.

Duncan said the larger space is 1,400 square feet, and it will have space for a dining area and for them to resume their catering business which was put on hold because of the problems at the old location.

“It’s a huge challenge, but we are resilient. We want to put the negativity behind us,” he said.

This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 11:01 AM.