On Tuesday, Ignacio High School students will break bread – either 6 inches or a foot long – at the town’s new Subway franchise they helped lure.

Opening day for the sandwich shop is a culmination of a months-long lobbying effort by Lynn Blakesley’s Service Learning class.

Last year, students began discussing possible projects. Ignacio’s lack of affordable, fast-service restaurants quickly came to the forefront.

“We all agreed that it would be nice to have a restaurant that has some healthy options and is affordable,” Blakesley said.

After some lobbying, Subway sent officials from Denver to speak with the students and to conduct their own feasibility study.

The Subway is opening on the town’s main thoroughfare in a renovated building at 580 Goddard Ave.; Ron Clark is the franchise owner.

A Subway may not, at first glance, seem to be an Earth-shattering development. But for Ignacio, with a population of about 700, it is the town’s first fast-food restaurant. Ignacio also has a number of locally owned restaurants, such as The Patio and Smoken Moes BBQ, but no brand-name chains.

“We’re kind of limited,” Blakesley said.

Subway already has six restaurants in La Plata County, including five in Durango and one in Bayfield.

The class goes toward fulfilling a graduation requirement in service learning. Blakesley said the project was very much student-driven.

“They had to make all the contacts,” she said.

Clark is expected to speak with the class today. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. A Subway representative did not return a call seeking comment.

Blakesley, who teaches Family and Consumer Sciences, said the project is meant to teach her students to learn professional skills alongside taking action in the community. The class discussed how to make professional phone calls and contact business people.

“If you really want to make a difference as a 16-year-old kid, you can,” Blakesley said. “You just have to take initiative.”

cslothower@durangoherald.com