Jessica Thornhill, who owns Tummy's Sub Shop, is joined by her mother, Julie Ellis on the left and sister Jolene Thornhill on the right. 

RIO LINDA, CA (MPG) - If there has ever been a Rio Linda dining institution, it’s Tummy’s Sub Shop on 741 M St. In business for 47 years, the eatery was taken over in December 2022 by Jessica Thornhill.

But Thornhill is no newcomer to the place. Now in her 30s, she started working behind the counter at age 16.

Thornhill literally grew up at Tummy’s. While her mother, Julie Ellis, worked there in the 1990s (she’s still full-time at Tummy’s, along with her sister, Jolene), Thornhill was running in and out of the shop, absorbing the sandwich environment.

Tummy's customers enjoy seasonal sporting events, including Kings games, Sunday NFL and rodeo on two flat screens.

Indeed, running Tummy’s has always been her dream.

“This is my heart and soul,” Thornhill said.

After being away for numerous years with a successful sales career, Thornhill heard once again the siren lure of sandwiches.

When longtime owners and family friends David and Sandy Shinn were getting ready to hang up their roast beef and cheese days, Thornhill decided to buy the restaurant.  Thornhill said that she asked her mother and sister to support her endeavor “and they enthusiastically came aboard.” Thornhill’s father, Chuck Ellis, also joined the family act, assisting with closeout activities at the end of the business day.

While she had some concerns about buying a business during the COVID-19 pandemic and a history-making wave of inflation, Thornhill reminisced, she took the leap.

“I knew what I needed to do to be successful and that’s what I did,” Thornhill said.

After giving herself a couple of weeks to get her ducks and loaves of bread in a row, Thornhill reopened on Dec. 10, 2022. Her menu, which features traditional sub sandwiches, also includes a turkey cranberry wrap and chicken Caesar salad. On Sundays, customers can enjoy a leisurely brunch at Tummy’s, including biscuits and gravy, and mimosas.

Tummy's Sub Shop owner/operator Jessica Thornhill poses proudly with her 4-year-old niece, Jazmine Robles.

Adding such items as well as maintaining what has been tried and true for almost a half century, Thornhill said, keeps her “on top of the sandwich game.” She kept what was working at Tummy’s, which includes a specially-designed ice machine that produces a fluffy, snowlike method to chill beverages.

Meanwhile, a third generation is growing up at Tummy’s. Thornhill’s daughter, Joslin, 13, and sons, Christopher, 10, and Jerson, 2, are familiar faces around Tummy’s, as well as Jolene’s son, Julio, 11, and daughter, Jazmine, 4. The upcoming Tummy’s brood underscores the family-run atmosphere.

While Thornhill maintains that they bicker from time to time like any family (“there’s an ongoing sisterly feud on whether to strategically place pickles or tomatoes first”), she said that her family “has a true abiding affection for each other that sees us through.”

When asked why they would choose a sandwich shop for a family-centered business, Thornhill’s response is, “Our love language is food.”

“I make sure Mom’s happy. I make sure sister’s happy. I couldn’t do it without them,” Thornhill added.

Thornhill said that she thinks about the restaurant when she is home at night.

“I’m always trying to constantly improve,” Thornhill said.

In the years to come, Thornhill said, Rio Lindans “can always count on me to keep Tummy’s Sub Shop going.”

The eatery is open seven days a week. For more information, call 916-991-5507 or visit Tummy’s Sub Shop on Facebook.