Jersey Mike’s: Showing America the Real Jersey Shore

By: EILEEN MEYER As the likes of Snooki and The Situation have plastered national media and given the shoreline of New Jersey a bad rap, a popular sub shop originating in Point Pleasant is approaching 600 units nationwide, providing sandwich lovers everywhere good food and the positive culture of the Jersey Shore. Mike’s sub shop opened in 1956 in Point Pleasant long before MTV’s reality stars were even born, but it had star power that even its employees could see. Peter Cancro began his job at Mike’s at 14 and, when the store was threatened to sell, put together a loan with the help of his football coach and bought the Jersey Shore favorite at the ripe age of 17. After opening a couple more sub shops and the Jersey Shore becoming a summer vacation destination, vacationers of the mid 80s were soon starting to miss their favorite subs in the winter months. It wasn’t until then that Peter began thinking about franchising Mike’s Sub Shop. In 1987, Peter took the plunge, changing the name to Jersey Mike’s Subs to capture the authenticity of where the sandwich was born: the Jersey Shore. However, all brands have a story, culture and the hope of expansion, so how did Jersey Mike’s Sub Shop go from a high school kid running the business to a 564-unit franchise in 32 states? President of Jersey Mike’s and former executive with Domino’s Pizza Hoyt Jones explained that Jersey Mike’s early growth strategy centered on close connections. “Jersey Mike’s started growing through friends and family in the 90s before they got a few franchisees to open two or three more stores to reach the 100 unit mark,” he says. It wasn’t until 2008 that the brand began targeting multi-unit franchise owners in different markets with hopes of entrepreneurs adding Jersey Mike’s to their resumes. “With this strategy, the company found logical candidates who wanted to open franchises with the experience and cultural fit of the brand, which helped Jersey Mike’s tip towards 300 units,” Jones says. In 2008, the rapidly growing sub shop new expansion plan began with three multi-unit deals. Today, Jersey Mike’s has 90 franchisees with development agreements of 3 or more stores, helping the brand near the 600 unit mark. Keeping with the Jersey Shore culture, Jersey Mike’s newest franchisee, Bob Middleton, took a trip to the original location in Point Pleasant to experience the authenticity before opening on September 5 in Shelby Township, Michigan. Bob and his partners Carl Chandler and Bill Biga plan to open 19 more locations in Oakland and Macomb Counties in the next 5 years with another location already set to open in Rochester Hills by the end of this year. “We chose Jersey Mike’s because of its successful business model that allows giving back to the community”, Bob details. “After meeting with Peter Cancro, we immediately saw we shared a deep passion for making a difference in people’s lives.” As Jersey Mike’s grows across the nation and close in on 600 units, they continue to re-instll the real culture of the Jersey Shore that first drew sub lovers to the brand.