Less than a year after taking full control of Roseville-based Tubby's Submarines, CEO Robert Paganes and executive vice president Bill Kiryakoza announced that they're expanding the popular restaurant chain to incorporate the "Just Baked" line of cupcakes and desserts into the Tubby's franchise. Tubby's purchased the Just Baked trademark, product recipes and distribution rights and will begin supplying cupcakes to Tubby's locations in the next few months.

"This is a great opportunity for us to begin to broaden Tubby's offerings and our overall appeal. That's something we've wanted to do, the time was right for us to do it, and the well-known Just Baked name was available," said Paganes. "We have room to display the desserts in our stores so there's no added cost to our franchisees and they're eager to have delicious desserts to offer customers."

"The Tubby's brand is a Detroit Original, known throughout Michigan for its freshness and quality products.  We were grilling subs long before warm sandwiches became a national trend," said Paganes, who has been with the company since its founding in 1968. "Just Baked shares a similar reputation and is also a metro Detroit-based company."

"Our expertise is in distributing fresh products to our stores every day, so adding the Just Baked goods won't be an issue," said Bill Kiryakoza, Tubby's executive vice president. "We're committed to do whatever it takes to deliver an exceptional customer experience to each and every customer that comes into one of our restaurants. We'll have that same commitment with our new bakery products."

Tubby's has 60 locations throughout metro Detroit. The chain offers dine-in, drive-thru, delivery and carry out service and is known for its grilled submarine sandwiches led by its famous Steak N' Cheese, garden fresh salads and monster party subs. "Now we're going to be known for our great desserts, too," says Paganes.

Paganes noted that there are several existing Just Baked franchises in metro Detroit that were not included in the deal. "This was a going-forward deal, meaning that much of the previously established Just Baked infrastructure and operations were not included in the transaction.  Having said that, we look forward to promoting the Just Baked brand and believe it will be a win-win for all those involved."