Restaurant & Bar Awards 2024 | 33 Sandwich Shop Owner of the Year 2024 (Wales): William Evans When former rugby player William Evans opened his first Subway franchise store on the 5th of June 2019, he had no idea his journey so far would culminate in him being celebrated as a national hero for his efforts in feeding the homeless on Christmas Day last year. Christmas 2023 marked the second consecutive year that William had opened his branch for homeless people or those spending the festive period alone, and he had enlisted a number of people to help him in his efforts, most notably his 7-year-old son, Hudson. This campaign is just one of the many factors that combine to make William a worthy winner of this award, and we explore these further below. At present, ex-rugby player and current entrepreneur William Evans owns five Subway stores across the Cardiff and Newport areas, having slowly but surely expanded his business empire over the past five years to today serve as one of Subway’s brightest and most promising franchise owners across the UK. A self-employed director, William’s wealth of skill in this space dates back to his start in the restaurant industry eight years ago, and in the years since, he has come to excel in a number of projects related to catering, consulting, and franchising, all underpinned by his signature passion for providing quality service and even better food. A former professional rugby player for Moseley RFC and Newport RFC, William was forced to hang up his boots early after several seasons for the club. Following neck surgery playing for Newport, he returned to play for Merthyr but damaged his neck again in the first game of the season. This was when William was forced to retire with immediate effect. However, he has more than kept himself busy in the years since, settling in to his position as one of the area’s most renowned and successful franchise owners. Even following this shift in careers, William has kept close ties to his sporting background, and his franchises proudly sponsor a number of local football and rugby clubs, as well as a member of the Jamaican Olympic bobsleigh team. Of course, this is but a taste of the ways that he gives back to his local community. As touched on above, the defining moment of William’s entrepreneurial journey so far has been his opening of one of his local branches on Christmas Day for the past two years, inviting in those who are homeless or simply in need of some company on what can be one of the most difficult days of the year for people who are alone. Christmas last year saw William band together with a number of local people to open one of his Newport Subway stores from 11:30am – 1pm, making and serving Subway’s world-famous fresh sandwiches for struggling individuals across the area to enjoy in good company. More than simply a one-day operation, William was teaming up with his friends from across the local area to deliver homeless care packages to people throughout Newport on the build up to Christmas, solidifying his unflinching desire to give back to give back to a community that has showed him so much love by buying his products and supporting his growth over the past five years. Very much following in the footsteps of his father, William’s seven-yearold son Hudson was on hand to help across this operation, spending Christmas with his dad and members of his local community in a way that was incredibly rewarding for all involved. Hudson’s efforts did not end there, and he enjoys spending every minute of spare time with his Dad in his stores across the area, learning what it takes to build a successful business. Hudson can usually be found helping out with the mopping or speaking with members of the team to find out more about Subway and franchising more generally, and he even has his own Subway uniform. Through this, William hopes that he will succeed in instilling a good work ethic in Hudson that will serve him well as he grows up and potentially seeks to become an entrepreneur himself, having learnt from one of the best. With five stores already in his name, William tells us that he is seeking to rapidly expand his franchising over the next five years and is hoping to own approximately 25 stores in and around Cardiff and Newport by the start of 2030. If he succeeds in this goal, rest assured that every store under William Evans’ ownership will maintain the incredibly high standards set so far and will equally prioritise giving back to those less fortunate, two of the defining elements that make William a particularly bright spot in this multi-national organisation. Contact: William Evans Company: Subway Web Address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-evans6426b7156/?originalSubdomain=uk
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQyNzgzNA==