Working people take lunch a lot more seriously than they used to. Kirk Jemison, a partner in Subway, which opened in York recently, is aiming to take advantage of changing attitudes.

IT'S a long time since Gordon Gekko said that lunch was "for wimps".

The venal anti-hero of the film Wall Street, played by Michael Douglas, coined a phrase which struck a chord in the cut-throat 1980s and early 1990s.

Most of the expression's adherents worked themselves into the ground, leaving 'wimpish' colleagues to pick up the pieces, but that's another story.

Lunch is a vital breathing space during the working day and, these days, the options for eating at lunch-time are greater than ever.

Within a ten-minute walk of any city centre office or workplace, there is a wide range of cafs, sandwich bars and pubs.

Many have owners who are aware that consumers want a choice that embraces healthier as well as tastier options.

Among the new arrivals in York is Subway, in Clifford Street, York.

Subway is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 22,000 independently owned and operated restaurants spanning the globe. It aims to provide a healthier alternative to fatty fast foods and, in York, is offering customers more choices to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Partner Kirk Jemison says: "We offer a really good, high quality product, made with the freshest ingredients.

With people everywhere concerned about having a sensible, balanced diet, customers can make choices that are both delicious and that contain very little fat."

Choices include Mediterranean chicken salad and the garden fresh salad, which has two grams of fat, with dressing.

For people on a carb-controlled diet, there are the two Atkins-endorsed salads - the classic club salad, and the grilled chicken and baby spinach salad, both of which have a very low carbohydrate content.

Updated: 11:16 Tuesday, September 07, 2004