A Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurant may be coming to the Topsham Fair Mall later this year. Darcie Moore / The Times Record

A Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurant could come to the Topsham Fair Mall before the end of the year, pending approval by the town.

The Topsham planning board will get a first look at plans for the 1,996-square-foot restaurant on Tuesday.

Franchisee Chris Brown said he has been opening the restaurants since 2008 and has over 50 restaurants in nine different states. Jersey Mike’s has more than 2,000 restaurants open or in development across 48 states.

Brown said he also wants to open a restaurant in Cook’s Corner in Brunswick, but hasn’t finalized those plans. He is working to bring Jersey Mike’s to other spots in the state including Saco, Westbrook, Auburn and Bangor. The only Jersey Mike’s currently open in Maine is in Scarborough.

He hopes to open the Topsham restaurant in October. It will provide 20 new jobs, 10 of them full-time.

The Topsham restaurant, as proposed, will have a drive-up pickup window.

Brown said he was drawn to the mall due to the high rate of traffic.

On average, there are between 11,000 and 13,000 vehicles that travel along Route 196 daily near Topsham Fair Mall Road, according to Paul Merrill, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation. Topsham Fair Mall Road, the main road that runs through the mall, draws about 14,000 vehicles a day where it connects with Route 196.

The restaurant would be constructed within the parking lot next door to the former Ruby Tuesday, which closed in March 2020. Another mall tenant, the medical marijuana store Highbrow, is moving into the larger space along with a coffee shop.

Corey King, executive director of the Southern Maine Midcoast Chamber, said while it’s a shame the Midcoast lost Ruby Tuesdays, it’s exciting to see new businesses coming to the area.

“I think you’re going to see more expansion in our area,” King said. “When you look at the growth of what’s happing in the state, a lot of it is happening in a triangle of Portland, Lewiston and Auburn, to our area so I’d expect to see more businesses coming to our area — both independent and franchise.”