ONE of the world’s biggest franchises, Subway, is set to open for business at Chineham Shopping Centre this Friday.

And one lucky Gazette reader will be picked to do the official opening honours and be the first to eat there – with the prize of their height in Subway sandwiches up for grabs.

The tasty reward is being offered by husband-and-wife franchisees Vanessa and Spencer Mattia.

The new arrival has already caused a stir with more than 100 people applying for positions at the outlet.

Vanessa said up to 20 full and part time jobs are being offered.

It is an exciting new venture for Vanessa, who has a marketing background working for the likes of Alton Towers, Fisher Price and Hasbro Toys.

But she is confident that running the business with Spencer, who is an IT consultant for a blue chip company, will be a recipe for success.

Vanessa said: “We like Subway as general consumers, and our two children love Subway too.

“You have to think if the kids of today are choosing that as a fast food choice, then actually that’s where the future is.

“And I like the fact that it’s got a healthy side with things like unlimited salad. Nothing is fried – it’s good quality healthy food, all prepared on the premises. It’s a healthy takeaway.”

Entrepreneurial Vanessa, who set up a flash sales website, which she sold last year, has high hopes for the outlet thanks to its location.

She said: “We think Chineham Shopping Centre is a fantastic location. There are two very large business parks nearby and the footfall for Tesco is fantastic.

“We conducted a great deal of research when choosing our location, and people were just screaming out for a consumer eating option like Subway.”

Subway was founded in the United States back in 1965. Now there are over 37,000 stores around the world in 100 countries.

Here in the UK, there are almost 2,000 stores.

TO BE in with a chance to be picked to open the store, simply answer the following question:

Q: In what year was Subway founded?

Email your answer, plus your name, address and contact telephone number to richard.garfield@basingstokegazette.co.uk.

The winner will be picked at random from the correct entries received by 10am on Wednesday, December 10 and contacted shortly afterwards. Normal Newsquest rules apply for this competition.

To see these, go to dailyecho.co.uk/leisure. Good luck!