Subway, a popular national chain of sandwich shops, recently moved into the same building as Ben and Jerry's on Lebanon Street.
Subway opened in the middle of December, Owner Jamie Parker said. It does not deliver yet, but Parker said it will within the next month.
"We'll deliver as long as there is business for it," Parker said. "I imagine on weekends we'll stay open until one or two."
Right now, the restaurant does not have definite closing hours. It is open until "late," depending on the amount of business, he said.
Subway's menu includes cold and hot subs, ranging from turkey and roast beef to meatball subs. You can top your sandwiches with an assortment of free extras, such as cheese, olives and mustard.
Six-inch submarine sandwiches cost anywhere from $1.69 to $3.19, and foot-long subs run from $2.99 to $4.79.
Parker said he started looking for a Hanover location after opening a store in on Route 12A, in Glen Road Plaza, West Lebanon, a year ago.
He initially ran into trouble with Hanover zoning regulations that require a parking space for every five seats in the building.
But the space next to Ben and Jerry's, which used to be Tony's Pizza, was already zoned as a restaurant so Parker just needed a building permit, he said.
Parker said Subway's chief attractions are its cheap prices and fast service.
"We can get you in and out of there in four minutes," he said. "You can make a pizza in five minutes, but then it takes 20 minutes to come pick it up. We don't lie to you."
When The Gap, a national clothing chain, opens on Main Street this spring, it and Subway will be the only two nation-wide chains in Hanover. But Hanover Code Administrator Peter Johnson said there never has been any kind of restriction on chains in the Hanover zoning laws.
"I don't notice anything changing," said Johnson, who enforces the zoning regulations. "The College worked hard to get The Gap in as someone who would be stable and long-term. There is nothing to prohibit [chains] from coming."
Johnson said he does not think the arrival of Subway and the Gap marks the start of an influx of chains into the area.
"I think it's a coincidence that they both came at the same time," Johnson said. "I don't think it's a trend."
Parker said some Hanover merchants were upset when they heard Subway was coming, because it would be hard for them to compete with a chain.
"It does take away from some of the other businesses - no one can compete with those prices," Toby Fried, the owner of Lou's Restaurant, said. "It's the same league as competing against Dartmouth Dining Services."
But Parker said he has no problems with the complaints.
"When some of [the local businesses] found out, they voiced their opinion and we heard some opposition," he said. "They asked, 'Why are you coming here to take away our business?'"
"It's a free country," he said. "I believe in free enterprise."
Clint Bean, executive director of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce, said the town has no problem with chains.
"We're glad to have them here. I don't see what the problem is," he said. The Chamber of Commerce regulates the town's businesses.
Bean said the large chains could draw more customers to the area, which the smaller local businesses would benefit from.
He said the large chains are a good addition to the foundation of small businesses in Hanover. "They add a balancing flavor to the business community," Bean said.
