When the smell of meat and cheese is in the air, The Whole Darn Thing Sub Shop bustles with activity.

The local sandwich store held an official grand opening for its new location at 320 Water St. in Conneaut Lake on Thursday, Nov. 13. The storefront had a “soft opening” on Sept. 29, according to its Facebook page, and has had modified hours until recently.

In the hour following the ribbon-cutting, about 20 event attendees sampled pinwheel wraps, boba tea and no-bake cookies inside the store. The parking lot overflowed into nearby lots as patrons joined the crowd while stopping by for their own sandwich orders. Christa Lundy, the executive director of the Meadville Area Chamber of Commerce, reflected on the ribbon-cutting ceremony as members of the Chamber mingled with customers and family members of Whole Darn Thing’s staff. According to Lundy, a dozen people from the Chamber joined the festivities.

“We love to see when members support one another,” Lundy said. “We’re real excited for them (Whole Darn Thing). They’ve done a lot, and I love that they’re local people, and people are really supporting them.”

The Chamber works to build businesses and connect the community, provide educational programs, promote its members and empower the leaders of tomorrow, according to its website. Whole Darn Thing is a member of the Chamber. Standing in the dining area at the grand opening, Lundy pointed out the visible ways that Chamber members were supporting each others’ businesses, such as selling delicacies from Casey’s Candies.

Alicia Unger, an owner of Whole Darn Thing, said the Chamber supported her business in the lead-up to the new location’s opening by leveraging its wide reach to spread the announcement that the new location was hiring.

The original Whole Darn Thing storefront, located at 889 Market St. in Meadville, has been open for business for decades. According to Unger, the new Conneaut Lake store at 320 Water St. is the business’s first expansion since the closure of its second location in Edinboro this past August.

“We were there for four years and it just wasn’t working,” Unger said. “Logistics between staffing and sales weren’t great, and our building — it was a leased building, we had some troubles there — so we kind of had to let that one go.”

Charlee Sharp, a Conneaut Lake resident who worked at the Meadville location before joining the new team closer to home, has high hopes about the new location. She thought the ribbon-cutting ceremony was an excellent way to celebrate the business’ expansion.

“I was kind of thinking, you know, we’re going to be kind of busy,” she said with a laugh. “I was happy we did it (the ribbon-cutting ceremony) because I think it means a lot to the community.”

For Unger, this location holds personal significance.

“I’m from Conneaut Lake, so one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to come back here is because I remember being here as a kid,” Unger said.

The building in which Whole Darn Thing is now slicing meats and toasting bread used to be a bank, she explained. Unger recalled riding past the building on her bike from her childhood home to other nearby stores.

“I just thought that this building was so awesome,” Unger said. “I just loved it. I liked the woodwork. It reminds me of, like, my childhood home — my dad did that with our living room, so kind of nostalgia there.”

Despite the central location and architectural charm that Unger appreciated about the property, converting a bank into a food service establishment did not come without its challenges.

“It (the conversion) was, like, the kind of single biggest challenge that came with the building,” Unger said.

She removed the ATM and rearranged the floor plan, but other bank infrastructure proved harder to work around.

“When you’re thinking about the building,” Unger said, “you’re like, ‘Great — it already has a drive-through.’ But the windows are bulletproof.”

But Unger learned to maintain a sense of humor about the situation.

“It’s hilarious because you think, ‘How convenient you already have these big windows,’” Unger laughed. “They’re not usable. Who would have thought?”

She hopes that in the future, she can convert the building’s vault into a walk-in refrigerator.

Additionally, Unger says that one benefit of the building is that it has plenty of space for customers to linger. According to the property’s Zillow page, its interior measures 2500 square feet.

“We have plenty of seating,” Unger said. “We’ve never run out, and I feel like we’ve been pretty busy.”

Those at the grand opening felt that the Conneaut Lake community was pleased with the new location’s proximity.

“A lot of people are really happy about it, that we’re back in town,” Sharp said. “And, you know, we’re closer than Meadville is, so I’m feeling pretty good about it.”

Lundy has high hopes for the business.

“They’re one of our absolute favorites,” she said, “so we’re glad when they expand.”