More from Jersey Mike's Subs
Jersey Mike’s Subs, a fast-casual sub sandwich franchise with more than 2,300 locations nationwide, believes that making a sub sandwich and making a difference can be one and the same. Jersey Mike’s offers a Sub Above, serving authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on freshly baked bread – the same recipe it started with in 1956. The model seems to be working. Here are a few highlights:
- Named fastest-growing fast-food chain in America by QSR magazine (2022).
- Named fastest growing sandwich chain and one of the nation’s biggest restaurants (#35) in the 2022 Nation’s Restaurant News Top 500. In addition, Jersey Mike’s opened 246 locations in 2021, up 13.3 percent over the previous year.
- #4 on Entrepreneur’s 2022 Franchise 500, Jersey Mike’s fourth year on the Franchise 500 top 10 list.
- Named one of QSR’s Best Restaurant Franchise Deals in 2021.
- #14 on the Franchise Times Fast & Serious List (2022) for “Smartest-Growing Brands.”
- Ranked in: Fast Casual’s 2022 Top 100 Movers & Shakers (#23), QSR magazine’s 2022 The QSR 50 (#28), 2022 Restaurant Business/Technomic Top 500 (#39), and Franchise Times 2022 Top 500 (#61).
- #38 on the Forbes 2022 Halo 100 List, highlighting customer experience excellence.
- Jersey Mike's Grilled Portabella Mushroom and Swiss Sub was named Best Healthy Fast-food Sandwich in the 2022 Eat This, Not That! Food Awards.
- Recipient of 2021 Industry Hero Award from Hospitality Technology, 2015 CIO 100 Award by CIO magazine and two Hospitality Technology Restaurant Breakthrough Awards, in 2014 and 2012, for the company’s single proprietary, fully integrated technology platform.
The Secret of Our Success
Our subs are authentic and fresh, served up with a helping of neighborly banter from our dedicated and high-energy team. Now that’s a combo that’s hard to resist!
- Jersey Mike’s offers authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs served Mike’s Way® with the freshest vegetables – onions, lettuce, tomatoes – and there’s The Juice – an exquisite zing of red wine vinegar and olive oil blended to perfection.
- We use only premium meats and cheeses sliced on the spot and piled high on delectable bread that’s baked fresh in the restaurants throughout the day. (Udi’s gluten free bread is now available too!)
- Everything is quickly made to order for each customer, just the way the first subs were made at the original Jersey Mike’s more than 65 years ago.
Starting Out
- Mike’s Subs opened as a storefront location in the seaside town of Point Pleasant, N.J. in 1956. It offered unparalleled service and exceptional quality submarine sandwiches, which were a new concept at the time.
- Because of its location on the Jersey Shore, it grew quickly in popularity among the thousands of surf and sun seekers from New York to Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
- By the early 1970s Mike’s Subs was a thriving landmark famous for its lively and friendly service and its fresh, quality submarine sandwiches.
- In 1975, Peter Cancro, a 17-year-old high school senior who had worked for Mike’s Subs since he was 14 and loved the business, bought the operation with the help of his football coach. At the time, Peter wasn’t even old enough to legally slice a sub.
- Over the next decade, Peter opened two other local Mike’s Subs stores and built on the cult-like following that Mike’s Subs already enjoyed.
- In 1987, Peter began franchising the Mike’s concept, changing the name to Jersey Mike’s Subs to capture the authenticity of the original store. Today, Peter is CEO of Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc., headquartered in Manasquan, NJ.
- Peter made the Nation’s Restaurant News Power List in both 2021 and 2017. He was named #1 Most Admired Fast-casual Leader in QSR’s 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards as well as the International Franchise Association’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” and a Golden Chain Award Winner by Nation’s Restaurant News in 2013.
Giving Back
“Giving…making a difference in someone’s life” has always been a guiding principle at Jersey Mike’s. It’s a philosophy that Jersey Mike’s Founder and CEO Peter Cancro has emphasized to each and every Jersey Mike’s store owner: support the community that supports you. In the last decade alone, locations throughout the country have raised nearly $90 million for local charities. Here are some examples:
- Each March, Jersey Mike’s celebrates its annual “Month of Giving.” The national fundraiser culminates on “Day of Giving,” the last Wednesday of March, when Jersey Mike’s franchise owners donate 100 percent of the day’s sales — not just profit — to local charities across the country. Since 2011, Jersey Mike’s and our generous customers have raised more than $67 million.
- In the past two years, Jersey Mike’s has donated more than $11 million to Feeding America, providing over 110 million meals through the organization’s nationwide network of 200 local member food banks.
- In 2021, Jersey Mike's raised more than $800,000 for local community partners including schools, hospitals and other worthy organizations as part of fundraisers to celebrate the openings of 252 new locations across the country.
Training & Support
Jersey Mike’s training and support is second to none. In 2022 alone, the franchise hosted 63 regional manager level training sessions, 5 regional multi-unit workshops for franchisees looking to grow, 30 “Leadership Experience” week long cultural & management training sessions, and several Town Hall meetings around the country.
The Jersey Mike’s IT team supports an array of proprietary systems including the POS, online ordering platform, and award-winning mobile app. The team also includes an in-house Help Desk supporting Franchisees and their crews over 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. Recently, the team’s efforts have been recognized with the following awards:
- 2021 Hospitality Technology Industry Hero
- 2021 Hospitality Technology Top Women in Technology
- 2022 ICX Associatoin Elevate Award – Best Mobile ICX
- 2022 Technomic Consumers’ Choice Award for Highest-Rated Online Ordering Experience
For more information, please visit www.jerseymikes.com. Come see us soon!