Fans Flood Iconic Irving Sandwich Shop After It Announces Imminent Closure

After almost 50 years of operating in Irving, popular lunch destination Captain Nemo’s will close its doors for good.

Captain Nemo’s announced that it would shutter at the end of the year in a Facebook post on December 6. “Due to the difficulties during COVID-19, we have come to the point in our lives where we realize that we cannot continue the daily grind required, physically and financially, to keep things rolling along as they are,” the post reads. “We have explored the possibility of finding someone to continue our legacy but have not found a suitable path to this end.”

In the decades after Captain Nemo’s opened in 1973, the shop became a local lunchtime destination thanks to its enormous submarine sandwiches, especially the steak sub that served as the restaurant’s namesake. The shop’s carrot cake was also a beloved favorite.

In the days following the restaurant’s sad announcement, fans of Captain Nemo’s flooded the sandwich shop with orders, resulting in wait times of longer than 45 minutes during peak hours. “What an overwhelming response,” the restaurant’s owner wrote on Facebook. “Please forgive us if we couldn’t get to the phone during lunch hours. We are just not able to get to it.”

Captain Nemo’s is set to serve its final sandwiches on December 31.