Duo serve ‘Cozy Subs’ and other menu items at new mom-and-pop restaurant in Ririe
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RIRIE – A new restaurant in Ririe is already becoming a popular destination less than a week after opening its doors.
Cozy Subs, which serves a variety of breakfast and lunch items at 317 Main Street, opened without fanfare on Monday.
After doing more than $1,700 in sales at the close of business on Saturday, Owner Marcye Gifford and her kitchen manager, Jullie Hill, told EastIdahoNews.com business has been “busier than expected.”
The menu includes a variety of homemade sandwiches and dishes made fresh daily. One of the most popular is the 1914, named for the year Ririe was established. It’s turkey and cream cheese on focasccia bread with mixed greens, onion, avocado and cranberry sauce infused with jalapeno cilantro.
The bulldog is another popular item. It’s a warm and toasted french roll stacked with roast beef, cheddar and cream cheese. It’s also served with bacon, mayo, lettuce, onion, cowboy candy, barbecue sauce and a dash of tabasco sauce.
Breakfast items include the gravy wagon, which is biscuits and gravy, the breakfast bedroll — the duo’s takes on breakfast burritos — and the hogtie sammie. It’s bread or an english muffin with choice of bacon, ham or sausage, along with scrambled or fried eggs and cheese.
The restaurant also serves Pepsi products from a local vendor and features decor and artwork from local artists.
The pair recently met when Gifford was looking for a place to house her Airbnb cleaning business. The building on Main Street, recently vacated by Lovebird Green Grocer & Art Co., was available and Gifford acquired it.
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“There was a deli and a grocery store/pizza place hodge podge here previously,” Hill explains. “She (Gifford) mentioned maybe opening a deli down the road and that’s when I stepped in.”
Hill has worked in restaurants for years, including a recent gig at Jefferson Hill Clubhouse in Rigby.
The women have since discovered they think alike and it’s proven to be a beneficial partnership. They’ve worked tirelessly since April to renovate and open the business. Although they’re still getting established, they love the idea of bringing a mom-and-pop shop to the community.
After five years of running a cleaning business and a previous background in the medical industry, Gifford never thought she’d be running a deli — but she’s having the time of her life.
The pair are preparing for a grand opening on Sept. 27, and have big plans going forward.
“We just hired a lady to do in-house baked goods — sugar cookies, brownies, muffins, danishes. We’ll be (serving) soups soon,” says Gifford.
“We have so many ideas, we have to tone ourselves down,” Hill adds. “I’ve got to start working on a catering menu with a smaller food truck for events.”
But regardless of how things play out, Hill says their main goal is to offer quality food at a reasonable price and “make people happy.” They appreciate the community’s support in the short time they’ve been open.
“Our opening day was chaotic,” says Gifford. “Despite the bumps and bruises of figuring things out, people have showed up and it’s getting better and better every day.”
Cozy Subs is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday through Saturday.