Meet the Sandwich Slingers: The Submarina

In 2022, Keri Bruton and Shelly Huff were both in the middle of career transitions. Aside from this, they had one other thing in common: a relative. Bruton’s sister is Huff’s daughter-in-law. 

If you’re having trouble understanding their relation to one another, you’re not alone. The two now own both locations of The Submarina together, and regulars often mistake them for a mother-daughter duo. But we think that’s also partially due to the fact that there just seems to be a natural bond between them.

Post-COVID, Bruton’s career as a hospital phlebotomist was coming to an end, and Huff had just sold her wedding venue business in Republic, Spring Creek Estates.

In the middle of figuring out her next move, Huff noticed that a former Subway building was for sale in Shell Knob. Halfway joking, she threw the idea of opening a restaurant there to her son, who, to her surprise, loved it. He was the one who suggested she ask Bruton to join her. “Keri and I knew each other, of course,” Huff says. “Being family, we spent some time together, but not a lot of time. She was busy with her career, and I was busy with my career.”

Going into the sandwich business certainly wasn’t on Bruton’s 2022 bingo card, but she and Huff quickly realized they had what all great business partners possess: a complementary skill set. Huff loved to cook, and Bruton loved all things branding and design.

The Shell Knob location of  The Submarina (26082 Highway 39, Shell Knob) opened in May 2022, and the Republic location (389 Highway 60, Republic) in May 2025, and both met with immediate success. The Shell Knob location is especially busy during lake season, but regulars who are often in a vacation state of mind don’t seem to care.

When the line starts to get extra long at the Republic location, Bruton and Huff like to say they’re getting “Shell Knobbed.”

It’s no wonder the crowds show up. Great service paired with fresh ingredients is their secret to success. They bake bread, slice their own meat, grate the cheese and chop the lettuce and veggies daily.

Their chicken salad has a cult following that sells it out on the regular, and the made-in-house potato salad is notoriously addictive for customers.

But even on their busiest days, their crew knows how to have fun and keep things light-hearted. Anytime someone makes a mistake and messes up a sandwich, they’ve got a saying for that, too.

“Shelly or I will take a bite out of it,” Bruton says. “Then we’ll say, ‘Guys, this is the best sandwich I’ve ever had. I’m not just saying that, this is the best sandwich.’”