Beloved Salem County Sandwich Shop Taken Over By New Mom and Pop

Dorsey Maxwell grew up on Seagraves Sub Shops’ cheesesteaks and hoagies, and though he didn’t know it would be happening until very recently, he’s now been chosen to carry forward the legacy of this legendary Salem County business.

Seagraves has been a fixture in the Salem area for more than 70 years, having developed a reputation as the quintessential hidden gem. It was owned by Ronnie Seagraves and his wife Cheryl for over 50 years, and by Ronnie’s parents before that.

But about a year ago, Maxwell said, he was in the shop talking to Ronnie, and the possibility of him taking it over came up.

He said the Seagraves had been kicking around the idea of retirement for a little while, but said they wanted to find the right buyer before making that move.

Maxwell said he knew at the time that his job as a supervisor at a chemical plant would soon be coming to an end, and that he’d need to figure out a new gig. But he said the timing just didn’t seem right for him at that point. He passed on the opportunity.

But then one day, just a couple months ago, that all changed. 

“My wife and I woke up one day and we were like, ‘hey, I think the shop’s still for sale,’” Maxwell said. 

He said he went back over to the shop to talk to Ronnie and Cheryl and in less than an hour the deal was done.

“We shook hands and a couple days later we signed the papers,” he said.

That was back in June and things progressed quickly from there.

Dorsey and his wife Casey have now taken the reins at the shop and they opened for business on September 2.

Maxwell said they’ve added a new deck to provide more outside seating (the shop has always primarily been a take out operation), and they’ve done a little updating inside. But for the most part, they have no plans to change what’s worked for more than seven decades.

Though he hasn’t  worked much in the food industry, Maxwell said he has recently gained some experience helping out as a manager at the Engine House Golf and Social Lounge in Pennsville, where his brother Johnny is one of the owners.

Continuing the family theme, the Mawells will also have help from Dorsey’s sister, Jessa Maxwell-Parkel, who has already been working at Seagraves for the past year or so, and she’ll be staying on to help.

Ronnie and Cheryl also agreed to stay around and help for a little while to ensure the Maxwells get off to the best possible start towards continuing the Seagraves name and reputation.

But it seems they’re already headed in the right direction.

“We’re planning on keeping everything to the same quality and standards that Cheryl and Ronnie did over the years,” Maxwell said. “We want to honor that and keep their legacy alive.”