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Philadelphia Sandwich Shop Temporarily Closes In 'Quest To Find Better Employees'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --A popular sandwich shop in Center City remains closed because management says its employees were not making the cut.

Fink's Hoagies off Jewelers' Row has plenty of awards, but what it really needs right now is employees.

"Thank you for calling Fink's Center City. We will be closed Monday, Sept. 19 to Friday Sept. 23, as we continue our quest for better employees," the shop's voicemail recording plays.

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The shop abruptly closed a week and a half ago. People looking to get their hoagie fix are now greeted with a sign on the door with the same message as the phone recording.

Self-proclaimed hoagie enthusiast Fran Glick was not pleased.

"If you have a customer that's coming to the door and you're looking to have a hoagie, and you see it's closed because you don't have help, I'm going to go someplace else," Glick said.

The sign on the door reads that new hires "must be exceptionally clean, fast, always on time, have the ability to read and understand our menu and drug-free."

Fellow Jewelers' Row business owner Jeffrey Debs said he completely understands why the employees needed to be replaced.

"It seemed like they were scrambling around to figure things out," Debs said. "They didn't seem very organized and I think that kind of existed up until recently."

The sudden closure was a shock to building's owner Joseph Bonfiglio, who said this Fink's location has been open for 15 months and is very popular with the lunch crowd.

"Not only was I surprised, everybody who comes around here looking for a sandwich was surprised," he said. "Turnout is pretty enormous."

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On social media, Fink's management wrote the closure is only temporary until they can get the right team in place. CBS3 reached out to owner Dennis Fink for comment, but our messages were not returned.

Fink's Hoagies original Northeast Philadelphia location remains open.

Fink's Center City will be closed Monday, September 19th til Friday, September 23rd as we continue our quest to find...

Posted by Fink's Hoagies on Monday, September 19, 2016
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