Magic City Hoagies
Christine Staley always knew she wanted to own a business, but that wasn’t the path she chose out of high school. Instead, she pursued a theater degree and worked in TV production in Miami, Florida (the other Magic City). But business ownership was always in the back of her mind, so she started writing a business plan for a restaurant. Then in the Fall of 2013, her husband accepted a job in Minot (the Magic City), and they moved with their young daughter.
Her business plan was shelved during the relocation and time needed to care for her young family. Staley routinely checked the newspaper for job opportunities, but never looked at the business opportunities. Until one Sunday in August 2014, when she saw that an established deli was for sale. Staley met the owner the next day, revamped her business plan for a sandwich shop, obtained financing to purchase the equipment, and within two months opened Magic City Hoagies. “The sandwich shop never closed its doors,” she said. “It was the previous sandwich shop the day before and Magic City Hoagies the very next day.”
She based the menu on what had been successful for the previous owner but added more hoagies over time. “I want to bring new and unique flavor profiles from other places and introduce them to the community,” said Staley. Staley has been serving up fresh sandwiches for almost seven years now, and the menu has grown to as many as 60 different hoagies.
Good food and friendly service made the business a success. Then the pandemic hit. Staley’s attitude is that you’re always learning and problem-solving in business, so she took the situation in stride. The closure of in-person dining gave her time to make free lunches for area grade school students who were no longer in-person at school. At the same time, she pivoted her business to add a delivery service and an online ordering and payment system.
Staley stayed busy serving her community and wasn’t concerned about financing at the time. But when her local lender, First Western Bank & Trust, reached out to her with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), she applied for and received a first draw PPP loan. She also applied for and received an EIDL Advance.
Looking back, Staley is thankful for the assistance. “Every little bit of help counted,” she said. “I used all of the PPP funds to pay my employees. Since I had to build out an online delivery service and hire more people, revenues would have been much further down, compared to the year before, without the PPP.”