The Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce welcomed Scooters Coffee to the community with a ribbon cutting over the weekend.
The Scooters is the 6th from area businesswoman Rachel Wallace who also owns 25 Subway Restaurants as well as the Best Western Motel and the strip shopping center next to the motel.
Wallace says she liked what Scooter’s has to offer and the support offered to franchisees.
“We’ve got drinks for everyone, food for everyone, lots of breakfast items. Kids pack drinks with a treat and a special prize. Get drinks for mom that keeps her going all day, and power drinks if you like your protein shakes,” Wallace said. “If you don’t want any caffeine, we’ve got some amazing smoothies. Those are my favorite because I don’t like to stay up too late at night, so I get those, and they are just delicious.”
Wallace says Scooters prides itself on fast service and expanded hours. The Salem Scooters is open from five am to eight pm Monday through Friday and six am to eight pm on Saturday and Sunday. Wallace is a second-generation Subway owner as her parents got involved in the franchise in 1989 after running mom and pop motels in the Effingham area. After going to college to become an accountant and working several years at ADM in Decatur, she returned home to become part of the family business. She started as a subway artist before eventually taking over the restaurants when her parents retired in 2012. With the encouragement of her parents, she built the Best Western in Centralia.
A 23-year employee that has been her right-hand person through the years has joined Wallace as co-owner of the Scooters. Unrelated Marcie Wallace is pleased with the Salem Scooters which has around 30 employees.
“It’s gone really well. They’ve all learned really fast, they’ve been enthusiastic. We couldn’t ask for a better crew here in Salem,” Wallace said. “We’re really excited about what’s to come. We hope to see everybody come try us and like us, our speed, and our products and how awesomely nice the whole crew is.”
The store opened on September 9th without any fanfare in preparation for the grand opening this past weekend. Up next for the Wallace’s is new Scooters in Vandalia and Robinson.
