Great Adventure decline causes NJ firefighting vet to lose great sub shop (Opinion)

You would think if you opened an incredible sub shop just outside the entrance of Great Adventure that you would clean up. Especially if you had a wide-ranging menu of choices that piled the meats and cheeses really high.

Not so for "Hot Shot Subs," which is closing probably in part due to the lack of attendance at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Here's what they posted on their Facebook page:

"We would like to thank all our great customers for your support these past two years. Unfortunately, we will not be reopening. It has been our pleasure to have met and gotten to know you. We look forward to the possibility of serving you again in the future."

Hot Shots was opened by retired fire Chief John Erichsen, of Clarksburg, who spent the last 50 years serving his country in both military, and civilian capacities around the world. Now he wanted to serve up the best subs in New Jersey, many of which were named after places right here in the Garden State.

Hot Shot Subs was so great that I wrote about it after visiting one day with my then-producer Sam Doyle.

It wasn't an easy road for Hot Shots, as Erichsen told me:

"We opened just as COVID hit and had to endure two years of the pandemic which just killed small businesses with little to no help from the state because we just opened and did not meet the required time in business requirements the state set. Now with gas prices and recession setting in, people are looking to eat out less so they can pay their home expenses."

It was the local community that kept Hot Shots going and the Great Adventure decline certainly didn't help.

"Six Flags also suffered from the pandemic for two years having to place restrictions on attendance and having customers make reservations. This year they report attendance off from prior to the pandemic years. We see the lower attendance with less daily traffic flowing past our store into the park."

Hot Shots was a really great sub-shop with a 4.0 Yelp rating. It's sad when a great business run by great people like John, Maria, and Sam is forced to close, but Ericksen tells me through email that he hopes one day to open again, If he does, I'll be the first in line."

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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