Planet Sub, a Kansas City, MO–based sandwich restaurant, debuted the first of several planned Austin franchise locations this month in Southwest Austin.

The first Planet Sub in Texas opened its doors July 1 in the Brodie Oaks shopping center at 4006 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 900. Franchisees Kirk and Jan Swinney plan to open at least seven more restaurants in the Austin area, and Chris Komsthoeft and Joshua Klusman will operate all of the Austin stores, Klusman said.

The fast-casual chain plans to start construction in about six weeks on a second shop at 906 Congress Ave. in Central Austin that it plans to open in October, Klusman said.

The opening week at the Southwest Austin location was a success, Klusman said.

"I think everybody's really enjoying it," he said. "We're really a college town kind of sub shop; it's like a 'bar without booze' atmosphere. We've got some cool artwork on the walls, the music's lively, there's the smell of fresh bread because we're constantly baking it. It's just a nice, welcoming environment."

The menu offers more than 40 oven-baked sub varieties with toppings ranging from to meats and cheeses to sun-dried tomatoes and five-grain tempeh. There are more than nine vegetarian sandwich options as well as salads and soups.

Klusman said the chain's third location will likely be in Cedar Park, and Planet Sub eventually hopes to expand to Round Rock as well.

Planet Sub started in 1979 as a shop called Yello Sub in the college town of Lawrence, Kansas, serving oven-baked subs; the first Planet Sub–branded restaurant opened in 1998. The chain now has more than 37 locations in seven states.