A Denton sandwich institution just got a second home. New York Sub Hub, which has hand-sliced subs near the University of North Texas since the 1970s, opened a permanent food truck on September 2 behind downtown bar East Side Denton, giving the city's east side its own taste of the decades-old menu.
The truck sits at Austin St. Truck Stop, the food truck park located behind East Side Denton, according to dentonrc.com. The original brick-and-mortar shop at 906 Ave. C isn't going anywhere — it has served customers near UNT since 1979, per the same report, and will keep offering its fuller lineup of soups and desserts alongside the sandwiches.
Hunter Christiansen, the business's second-generation owner, said the truck gives New York Sub Hub a way to reach people outside its longtime UNT-area footprint. “We are hoping to serve more of our community here in Denton,” he said. “We have our location near UNT, but now here we are in the downtown and surrounding area,” Christiansen told the outlet.
How the Idea Came Together
The food truck wasn't originally on Christiansen's radar. Per Christiansen, the idea took shape after he talked with friends Tyler Buck and Jordan Buck about starting a truck back in the summer, and the concept grew from there rather than being part of his original plans for the business.
The truck's menu is a scaled-down version of what's available at the original location — sandwiches only for now, according to the same account, with some of the shop's least popular items left off until the operation is more established and has more structured fridge space to work with. Every sub is still sliced fresh to order, a hallmark the company touts on its own New York Sub Hub website, which also says the shop has hand-sliced more than 5 million subs since the 1970s.
No Toaster, But Familiar Setup
One notable gap for now: the truck has no toaster, though the business plans to install one down the road. The order counter inside the truck was built to replicate the layout of the original store's counter, giving regulars a familiar setup even in the smaller space, and the truck's tighter footprint also means easier upkeep and cleaning than the original shop requires.
The tradeoff is conversation. Christiansen said the truck makes it harder to chat with customers the way he can at the original counter, but he plans to keep trying to talk with people who stop by regardless of the format.
Hours Still Settling In
Reported hours for the truck are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight, and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight, according to dentonrc.com. Those hours may shift slightly as the business settles into its new location. Austin St. Truck Stop itself is generally open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week, weather permitting, per austinstfoodtrucks.com, though the venue notes that individual truck schedules can vary — it hosts a rotating lineup of local trucks serving a variety of global cuisines.
New York Sub Hub now has a permanent presence in two different corners of Denton — one rooted in nearly five decades near campus, the other brand new behind a downtown bar. For a shop that's built its name on consistency, the move marks one of its more visible steps beyond the neighborhood where it got its start.
