Subs 'n Such

One where their sandwich shop business got off to a fast start and grew so rapidly that it seemed poised to become a homegrown phenomenon. But the Shimers' story is about the things they wanted more than money, and how they spent three decades in business and landed back at square one, with almost no regrets. When we opened up the door, for several weeks people didn't know what a submarine was," said Dean Shimer, owner of Lakeland's Subs 'n Such, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last week. "It's hard when I think of '30 years.' It feels like it's been eight." Shimer once had as many as seven Subs 'n Such locations in Polk County, while former partner John McKee also had a handful of area shops bearing the same name. But today, only the original stands at 1008 S. Florida Ave., in the Dixieland Historic District.