New family-owned Lancaster County hoagie shop opening soon

COLUMBIA, Pa. (WHTM) — A new family-owned and operated Philadelphia-style hoagie shop will soon be opening in Lancaster County.

The new Tracy’s Tasties Hoagies is owned and operated by Tracy Hairston and his stepson Tyler Williams. According to Hairston, he first moved to Central Pennsylvania back in 2008 from his hometown right outside of Philadelphia, whereas his stepson Tyler was born and raised in Lancaster County.

Hairston has countless years of experience working and managing hoagie shops in the Keystone State, but Tracy’s Tasties will become the first business that he has ever owned and operated himself. His stepson Williams on the other hand is no stranger to the entrepreneurial hustle – he has his hands “dipped into” three other independently owned businesses as well, according to Hairston.

“You know I’ve been in [the hoagie business] since I was 19, but recently I had become partially disabled and was unable to work, but I still kept on cooking and selling hoagies out of my house,” Hairston explained. “Then one day my boy came up to me and said ‘Pop let’s do this for real’ and here we are.”

Since deciding to open the new hoagie shop, Hairston and Williams have been working on renovating their new storefront in order to meet their goal of opening on June 1. According to Hairston, they chose to open on June 1 so they could honor Hairston’s mother on her birthday.

“My mother passed away just three weeks ago and you know, you are just never prepared to lose your mother,” Hairston said. “So the main reason we want to open June 1 is to celebrate my mother’s birthday and her life. I honestly believe Mom is up in heaven watching over us and pulling some strings to us help out.”

The new approximately 300-square-foot grab-and-go hoagie shop is located at 1792 Columbia Avenue, which was formerly occupied by Dunkin. According to Hairston, they will be offering a wide variety of hand-crafted Philadelphia-style hoagies, which includes their two specialty subs called:

‘The Columbia’
- Smoked Turkey, Genoa Salami, and Sweet Bologna
‘Roll Tide’
- Roast Beef, Turkey, and Ham

“We are excited to be bringing something special and unique to Lancaster – I just want people to go ‘WOW, this is the best hoagie I have ever had’ when they stop in,” Williams expressed.

To order from the new Tracy’s Tasties, customers will be able to either order in person or call ahead. According to Hairston, he is also in the process of setting up an online ordering option on their website, which is expected to launch in the near future.

“[Opening soon] feels surreal, It honestly feels like a dream,” Hairston stated. “I mean this is the most excited I have been in my entire life.”

“It definitely feels like a dream come true,” Williams added. “I feel nervous for opening day, but aside from that I just feel like this is what I have wanted my whole life – it’s unreal to me.”

Following their June 1 grand opening, the hours of operation for the new Tracy’s Tasties Hoagies will be: