Islanders may not be too keen on the idea of a franchise restaurant setting up shop in town.

But a family owned and operated subway sandwich shop, well, evidently that’s quite a different matter.

And Ken Oberreit of KO’s Subs has been delighted by the embrace.

“I can’t be more pleased with the amount of business we’ve been getting just by ‘word of mouth’ from islanders,” Oberreit said. “Our call-in orders are really picking up steam.”

Oberreit brought along a wealth of experience behind the counter of a delicatessen when he relocated to San Juan Island a little over a year ago.

In fact, he owned and operated three delicatessens, known as OBO’s Market and Deli, in the vicinity of Pinedale, Wyo., located south of Jackson Hole, for more than a decade.

He sold each of those markets and then made the trip out west to San Juan Island.

Oberreit is replicating his past success by featuring specialty meats, custom-made sandwiches and by giving each sub a quirky family nickname, such as “The Max” and “The Ricky Van”, which has proven the most popular to date.

Customers can choose whether to spice-up their sandwich with a dose of Oberreit’s specialty sauce.

“We have to main varieties, traditional or ‘KO’ style,” he said. “People seemed to like the ‘KO’ spice.”

Oberreit found a home for KO’s Subs near the ferry landing and in the space formerly occupied by Sail-In Laundromat.

He opened KO’s in early spring with the help of daughter Marliese, 19, who man’s the counter and the cash drawer as well.

“There are a lot of subs to choose from, but we can do special orders as well,” Oberreit said. “We’ve got one woman who brings in her own bread and we use it to make hers.”

Contact KO’s Subs at 360 370 5496

— Scott Rasmussen