Industry News | December 13, 2012
Jersey Mike's Breaks Ground in Nebraska
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Jersey Mike’s Subs, known for its fresh-sliced, fresh-grilled East Coast–style subs, opened its first restaurant in the state of Nebraska—its 32nd market—in Lincoln.
Franchise owners Jeffrey Marcotte, Ross Olsbo, and Daniel Markel are holding a grand opening and fundraiser from Wednesday, December 12 to Sunday, December 16 to support the Food Bank of Lincoln.
This is the first of 13 Jersey Mike’s locations the team will open in the next five years in the state.
The new restaurant circulated 10,000 coupons throughout the community, offering a free regular sub for a minimum $1 contribution to the Food Bank of Lincoln.
“The Food Bank has been hit hard this year and especially needs help around the holiday time,” says Olsbo, who was born and raised in Lincoln. “We invite all our neighbors in to celebrate our opening and help out a worthwhile cause, where all the funds raised will stay in the state of Nebraska.”
Jersey Mike’s is known for its authentic East Coast–style subs, made Mike’s Way with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and a signature blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and spices.
The company only uses private-labeled meats and cheeses that are sliced fresh for each sandwich and piled high on in-store baked bread.
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 50 years ago. The Jersey Mike’s experience always includes its trademark neighborly banter served up by a high-energy Jersey Mike’s team.
“When we were looking at the Jersey Mike’s concept, everyone told me, ‘You’ve got to try this sub,’ and after my first bite of the #56 Big Kahuna Cheese Steak, I fell in love,” Olsbo says. “It blew away everything we had in Nebraska. We are thrilled to be opening the first Jersey Mike’s in the state right here in Lincoln.”
Started at the Jersey Shore in 1956, Jersey Mike’s wins best sub awards in virtually every market it enters.
“Jersey Mike’s is doing it right, growing in a measured way with the right partners,” Marcotte says. “They are focused on a quality product and are community driven, and we are all about that. Everyone we talk with is excited about having a new brand in town.”
The history of the company is one of entrepreneurship and giving back. CEO Peter Cancro started the company at age 17, before he was even legally able to slice a sub.
The company remains committed to making a difference in the communities it serves. In 2011, locations throughout the country raised more than $2 million for worthy local charities and distributed more than 200,000 free sub sandwiches to help numerous causes.
QSR® magazine has always found space to report on the charitable works and deeds of members of the foodservice community. But recently it became important to us to step up our efforts, and the decision was made to consolidate these stories in one place so you, the reader, could easily learn about what the industry is doing when it comes to giving back.
Our hope is that these pages will inspire and motivate you to take up your own cause—whatever that might be—to make our world a better place.
Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's International, told readers in the very first issue of QSR magazine that "Profit is not a dirty word." But Thomas also worked tirelessly for the many charitable causes that touched his life. In so doing, he proved that running a successful business extends beyond the bottom line and that the real rewards in life are measured in a currency far greater than the dollar.
So let these stories inspire you to find your cause, if you haven't already done so. We encourage you to let us know what you're doing, so that others might follow your lead, pickup your cause, and contribute in ever more positive ways to our communities and lives.
Among the causes that QSR magazine supports is CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. CureSearch for Children’s Cancer funds the lifesaving, collaborative research of the Children’s Oncology Group, the world's largest, cooperative pediatric cancer research organization. More than 5,000 physicians, nurses and other researchers, at more than 200 hospitals in North America, treat 90 percent of children with cancer. Funding efforts by CureSearch allows children with cancer to receive world-class treatment and care close to home.
Only research cures children’s cancer. The cure rates have risen from 10% forty years ago to a 78% overall cure rate today. Our goal is 100%.
Be part of the cure. Together, we can conquer children’s cancer.
The U.S. Congress has under consideration a bill that would provide $150 million for childhood cancer research. CureSearch offers an easy email template to write your federal representatives in support of this bill. It may be the most rewarding five minutes you spend today.
