Hot Table, famous in Springfield for pressed panini sandwiches, will open at the Apex Center in Marlborough.

It's the Springfield-based chain's the first move east, but it won't be the last.

"Our intent is to start opening more stores in the western suburbs of Boston," said John DeVoie, company president. "We aren't ready to go into the city itself. But we feel there is a lot of opportunity."

Founded in 2007 with its first location in the Breckwood Plaza in Springfield's Sixteen Acres, Hot Table has added locations in downtown Springfield and Hadley, as well as Enfield and Glastonbury, Connecticut during the past decade. 

"We have the four Springfield area locations and the Hartfordarea store," DeVoie said while prepping the Marlborough restaurant for its final inspection. "We are getting to the point where we are running out of good locations in our home territory. And when we find a location we do like, we find ourselves competing with the national chains for the spot."

The western suburbs of Boston are expanding outward as housing and office space becomes much more expensive closer to The Hub. 

"What's going on in Marlborough is amazing," he said. "A lot of companies are moving their people out to that area. It's sort of like a reverse commute."  That migration of employers means more people living in those communities and more office workers looking for a place to grab lunch. Both mean opportunity for Hot Table.

The panini sandwiches are made to order with ingredients that staffers prep ahead of time. The result is a fresh, hot meal that gets done quickly so busy lunchtime lines move quickly.

Only the two Springfield locations -- Breckwood Plaza and Tower Square -- serve breakfast. The rest are lunch and dinner only.  

Hot Table locations are also closed on Sunday for religious reasons and to give employees, and the owners, a day off, DeVoie said. 

Each Hot Table employs 25 workers.

DeVoie said Hot Table is also considering opening restaurants in the area of Charlotte, North Carolina, where one of the company's investors lives. 

Apex Center is a 475,000-square-foot, $160-million mixed-use complex  about an hour's drive east of Springfield. The center either has or will have Hyatt and Marriott hotels, 60,000-square-feet of retail and space for offices and medical facilities.
"It's a wonderful mixed use project," DeVoie said  "It's restaurants, hotels entertainment. It's really cool."

Hot Table is located across the street from a new Friendly's at the center, he said.
Hot Table's growth has makes a central office necessary. DeVoie said. Hot Table signed a lease last week to rent 2,000-square-feet on the 23rd floor of Tower Square's office tower.

"That's a vote of confidence in downtown Springfield, and as a Springfield native I'm happy to say that," he said. "We were looking for office space for our growing company. And we wanted to be near a store. So when vendors come to sell to us, you want to be able to show them a store."

The headquarters will have six-or-so employees.

By Jim Kinney

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