Former President George W. Bush meets a student at the Southlake, Texas
Penn Station East Coast Subs.
Southlake’s Future Leaders Get Unique Opportunity to Talk with Former President
Students at Carroll Senior High School recently got more than a great lunch at the newly opened Penn Station East Coast Subs location at 3000 E Southlake Blvd. Stopping by to chat and answer questions from some of Southlake’s brightest young minds was none other than the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush.
Questions asked of the former president, who lives in nearby Dallas, ranged from the inspirational –- “How did you motivate people as President?”– to those that covered the lighter side of leadership—“Who was the coolest world leader you met?” The former President shared stories that spanned all eight years of his presidency, including one about meeting Bono in the Oval Office. Bush also asked students about their own backgrounds, with a special emphasis on their future aspirations and how they hope to one day lead their community and our nation.
President Bush’s visit was organized by Carroll Senior High Principal Shawn Duhon and Penn Station franchisees David Sherzer and Dave Coussirat. Also in attendance were Southlake Mayor John Terrell, Police Chief Stephen Mylett, Carroll ISD Superintendent David Faltys, and other local officials.
“When President Bush expressed an interest in coming to our restaurant, the first person we called was Principal Duhon. We knew we wanted to get the high school students involved in a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Sherzer said. “This is the first step in what we are planning to do at all of our restaurants, which is to become really involved in the local communities and support schools and other worthy causes.”
Over the past two months, Sherzer and Coussirat have also opened Penn Station restaurants in Flower Mound and Plano, with several more planned throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in the coming years.
Feedback so far has been strong.
“President Bush said the food was ‘damn good.’” Sherzer added, “For the record, he got the cheesesteak and fries.”
Originally founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1985, Penn Station is an upscale, fast-casual restaurant chain.Penn Station has approximately 270 restaurants in 14 states. The company serves a variety of hot and cold subs, as well as fresh, hand-cut, made-to-order French fries, hand-squeezed lemonade made several times daily and chocolate chunk cookies baked fresh in the restaurant. For more information, visit www.penn-station.com.
