The thing that people don’t understand about our business is that local people own it, we are about as local as two people can be, Cyndi Griffin said, addressing concerns that the national chain restaurant would diverge from downtown Bend’s locally owned business makeup. There are 11soon to be 12, Subway restaurants in Central Oregon, and half of those are owned by the Griffins, who have lived in the region for 25 years.

The Griffins hope to take advantage of a slowdown in the downtown high-end restaurant scene with Subway’s $5 footlong sandwiches, available for lunch or dinner.

Subway will enter a downtown restaurant scene where fine dining establishments Volo closed earlier this month and Deep announced it will close early Thursday morning have had difficulty in the economic slowdown.

The new downtown location, at 939 N.W. Bond St., next door to Soba Asian Bistro, will be more upscale than the typical Subway, Chris Griffin said.

The $350,000 investment includes equipment and a remodel job that involved stripping off sheet rock to expose brick walls and extensive electric and plumbing work, he said. It will also feature “Tuscan-style” tables and chairs, he said.

Chris and Cyndi Griffin came from real estate and dental backgrounds, respectively, and bought their first pair of Subway restaurants in June 1996 in south Bend and south Redmond.

They have since added another restaurant in Redmond and two more in Bend, Chris Griffin said.

The south Bend restaurant will be a relocation of the existing Subway from U.S. Highway 97 and Powers Road a short distance to the Pioneer Crossing shopping center, where Gottschalks and Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza are located.