[4] Conza felt that there was little potential in submarine sandwiches, and in 1984 opened Border Café, a tablecloth restaurant serving southwestern cuisine on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

[5] After the Border Café's initial success, Conza opened two more of them in 1986, one in Woodstock, New York, and the other on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

That year, only 30 new Blimpie restaurants were opened, and company stock was in free fall, bottoming out as low as 15 cents per share.

In 1987, the company celebrated the opening of the 50th Blimpie's store in the Atlanta area by giving away 25,000 free sandwiches to customers there.

[8] Around that time, the company began to more aggressively advertise than it had in the past, doubling its marketing budget to about $2 million per year.

In some cases, such as in the Chicago market, Conza allowed franchisees to divert their 6 percent annual franchise fee to advertising.

Blimpie's was appealing for many, mainly for two reasons: a real kitchen was not required, and startup costs were relatively low (as little as $35,000) compared with other fast-food operations.

Other new concepts included a special refrigerated case for convenience stores (an expanding market), and the 'Blimpie Bakery', offering a variety of baked goods aimed at boosting early morning business.

The first such initiative came late in 1997 when the company acquired a 75 percent stake in Maui Tacos, a fast-food chain with six units in Hawaii.

Unlike Maui Tacos, Pasta Central was not a standalone concept but was created as a co-branding vehicle, coupled with Blimpie Subs & Salads.

The transaction was completed in January 2002, whereupon Endervelt took over as chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and Conza, a partner in the investor group, remained in an advisory capacity.

[18] In 2016, MTY Food Group Inc. struck a deal valued at more than $300-million (U.S.) to acquire Arizona-based Kahala Brands Ltd. and its 2,900 locations in 25 countries.