I went back to the Ashburn, Va. store today. This time it was toward the end of the peak of lunch hour. I was pleased to see that the place was doing a brisk business.

I took a co-worker with me and afterwards I asked his opinion of the food. He liked the panini very much, but said the pickle was too hot. I asked him if he would go back there sometime on his own, and he said that he would.

The franchise owner was very friendly, walking around checking with his customers to make sure that everything was to their liking. In asnwer to one question I posed, he said that he hope to open a second store in the Loudon County area (Loudon is one of the fastest growing counties in the country), but that due to the state of the economy that would be at least more than a year in the future. He clarified that the new one he hopes to open is not the one listed on the SPKL website as being in development. So, if his plans work out that would make at least three locations in the northern Virginia area, just a few miles outside of Washington D.C.