 GRACIE’S PLACE originated in Funkstown Maryland in 1997, when Grace Hartle-Hull, daughter of John and Margaret Hartle, decided to carry on her parents original recipes using the same high quality ingredients that kept her parent’s customers satisfied. In 1955 Mr. John Hartle drove around MD, PA, searching for the perfect ingredients for the best sub in town. Hartle’s Confectionary in Hagerstown, MD started in 1955 where John and Margaret began what was to become the most famous submarine sandwiches in the area. Because Hagerstown, MD sits centrally surrounded by WV, PA & VA it has become known as “The 4 State Area”. The three submarines that John and Margaret made to become “The 4 State Area’s Favorite Subs” were The Cold Cut, The Ham & Cheese and The Turkey and Cheese.
For many years these subs along with a few new ones became what many say today was a treat like no other in their time. We hear stories of how so many people looked forward to the weekends when their parents would load up the car and treat everyone to a submarine and bottle of pop. They tell stories of how they would pick up a bag of subs and go to the drive-in movies, to the park, fishing and many other traditional things we all reminisce about. When John and Margaret left us, the name “Hartle’s Subs” was sold. Daughter Grace did not want to see her father’s hard work and ever so famous sandwiches fade away so she started “Gracie’s Place” in the little Historical town of Funkstown, MD (shown in picture below) to continue the family tradition just the way her father taught her and her sisters. Gracie’s Place carries on that tradition till this day. The only two “Hartle’s” left in the business continue to work at the original Gracie’s Place in Funkstown, MD. Barbie and Bonnie, along with the rest of our employees love to hear stories of their grandparents, aunt and mother and remember everyone who stepped foot into their grandparent’s establishment.
When Grace decided to retire after making subs since 1955 with her family, Scott and Sheree Green had just moved back to Scott’s native town of Smithsburg, MD and were regular customers of Gracie’s Place when they heard about Grace wanting to get out of the business, so they decided to get into the submarine business. Scott knowing the history of these submarines discussed with his wife how they needed to do this to save a very famous area tradition that so many people depend on. After all, if Grace were to close the doors that wouldbe the end to her daddy’s famous submarines. With in two years we have opened five stores due to the over whelming requests from our customers asking if we could open a store closer to them. It hasn’t been easy but our customers are our family so we try to help them as they help us. Scott and Sheree say they could not have made a better choice as to what they want to do in life. Taking over a very famous establishment certainly has its benefits. The customers that came with it, and with all the new faces we meet every day, we know we belong here. We made a promise to Grace that we would never change her daddy’s famous sandwiches and we will be honored to carry on such a famous tradition. To this day we still have the same ingredients that John and Margaret used including only the highest quality meats, vegetables are delivered fresh from a local farm market, and bread is delivered daily. We only accept the best quality from our suppliers. We slice our meat for every submarine, sandwich, and wrap you order and not before. Along with our famous submarines Grace decided to start a line of homemade soups to add that little feeling of grandma’s good-ole home cooking. Our soups are made from scratch every morning and are bragged out about throughout “The 4 State Area.” We have a line of salads that are cut and prepared when ordered. We are one of the few remaining Old Fashioned food establishments that do not pre-slice or pre-make anything in our stores. Our employees care about our customers and their food as much as we do. We emphasize to our employees that we are a family, and our customers are family too and want them to feel as if they are in the comfort of their home or favorite place when dinning with us. We tell our employees to get to know the customers, listen to their stories and make them feel at home. We have lots of regular customers that don’t even have to order, we know as they are walking through the door what the like and how they like it. It is a great feeling when they come in and tell us how much they love our food and how they tell everyone about us. When we got into the business we knew the submarines were famous for the area but had no idea how famous. After a couple years being in the business we thought the stories would slow down but as we expand around the 4 state area we are hearing more and more of how famous these submarines really were and are today (2009) which drives us to keep expanding in order to let as many people as possible enjoy what is the only place you can get “The 4 State Area’s Favorite Subs Since 1955” If you are interested in Franchising a Gracie’s Place please visit the Franchising Info page. |
