New Kensington Subway damaged in December crash to reopen soon

The Subway restaurant in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood, closed since a car heavily damaged the building in December, is expected to reopen in two weeks, the building’s owner and franchise holder said.

“I’m happy to say they’re coming back to New Kensington and we’re glad they’re coming back,” said Jay Lombardo, who owns the building at 490 Stevenson Blvd. that also houses a car rental agency.

The damage from the Dec. 20 crash was “extensive and expensive,” Lombardo said, and it took six months to make the repairs necessary for the restaurant to reopen.

The driver of the car was charged with several traffic violations, but his insurance carrier wouldn’t cover the cost of the repairs, Lombardo said.

Lombardo said he’s working with his insurance carrier and declined to detail how much the repairs cost, but said it wasn’t cheap.

Local contractors were used to make the repairs and they helped tremendously, Lombardo said.

“The community came together and helped us,” he said.

Southwest Subway Inc. is the franchise holder. John Kauffman of Greensburg, a partner in the franchise, said the work is nearly done on the building and they hope to reopen in two weeks.

The Subway has been at the location for about a decade and, before that, was on Seventh Street in downtown New Kensington, Kauffman said.

Two of the employees who worked at the restaurant before the crash are returning and the restaurant is hiring more staff, he said.

A grand reopening will be celebrated later this year.