Don’t forget the pepperoni rolls at new sub shop in Warner Robins. Take a look inside
Andy and Jan Clark of Macon brought a popular franchise sub sandwich shop back to Macon two years ago, and now they’ve done the same for Warner Robins.
Baldinos Giant Jersey Subs opened Tuesday at 823 Russell Parkway within sight of its former location that is now home to Sharks Fish & Chicken.
“It’s been good,” Jan Clark said of the first day. “Steady. A lot of people remember the old Baldinos.”
The new Baldinos at 823 Russell Parkway is in the building that previously housed Mike’s Hot Dogs & Hamburgers, a quirky and iconic family-owned restaurant that was known for its Gorilla Burgers.
The Clarks bought the building from Mike and Rita Wellons after he retired and closed Mike’s Hot Dogs & Hamburgers after a more than 35-year run.
Mike Wellons stopped in at Baldinos on opening day.
“They’re good people,” Wellons said of the Clarks. “Andy and I have become friends.”
Wellons gave the Clarks a framed Mike’s Hot Dogs & Hamburgers T-Shirt, which hangs in the restaurant.
Asked how he was enjoying retirement, Wellons joked, “I’m trying to find things to do.”
Kellie Dover, who was the general manager at Mike’s Hot Dogs & Hamburgers, is now the general manager at the new Baldinos.
Jan Clark, who’s hands-on, will work alongside Dover for the first few weeks and then Clark will be back and forth between the Warner Robins and Macon sub shops. Andy Clark handles the finances. Their son, Bridges Sanders, is the general manager at the Baldinos at 596 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
The Clarks expect to look at opening a Baldinos in Dublin or Forsyth in the future. But right now, they’re concentrating on the new Warner Robins location.
About the food
Baldinos offers a variety of Jersey subs served up cold, toasted and grilled.
The bread is baked in house and the Clarks get their meats and cheeses from an Italian purveyor.
Jan Clark’s favorite sub is the No. 29: the Hot Italian, which the menu describes as extra provolone cheese, triple layers of capicola, pepperoni and hard salami.
Andy Clark’s go-to is the No. 24: the Italian Battalion with extra pressed ham, cooked ham, hard salami, capicola, pepperoni and provolone cheese.
The most popular subs on opening day in Warner Robins were the Italian Battalion and the No. 14: the American Special with layers of turkey, cooked ham and roast beef.
“They’re running neck and neck,” Jan Clark said.
The menu also includes salad plates, meatballs, a vegetarian stir fry, a soup of the day, chips, deli salads and cookies.
Don’t forget the pizza rolls — which are unique to the Macon and Warner Robins locations — that Jan Clark brought back to the Baldinos menu.
She previously recalled fond memories of numerous trips for the pizza rolls when she was pregnant to the old Baldinos in Macon when it was in the building that now houses The 3 Countries restaurant.
Clark is also thinking about experimenting with cinnamon rolls at the new Warner Robins location.
The new location offers a daily, rotating special. The Tuesday special was meatballs.
The sub shop has indoor dining with five booths for four, two booths for two, one table for six and two tables for four.
A long bench near the front is for takeout orders.
Tuesday was the restaurant’s first official day, although it did open for training purposes last Thursday and if you stopped in, you could order food, Clark said.
Initial hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and later will be 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Online ordering and via the Baldinos app, third-party delivery and catering will likely be added in the new year. A grand opening is expected in January. The telephone number is 478-784-8000.
