Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, known for its award-winning, hand-crafted sandwiches, has signed a franchise agreement that will bring up to three new restaurants to the greater Hampton Roads, Virginia area over the next three years, with the first restaurant slated to open early next year in Newport News.
Capriotti’s is most famous for its 40-year nightly tradition of slow-roasting whole, all-natural turkeys in-house and hand-shredding them each morning to feature in a variety of fan-favorite subs. This includes The Bobbie, the shop’s acclaimed best-seller, made with homemade turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo on a soft roll.
The new Virginia locations will be owned and operated by a local husband and wife entrepreneurial team. Gray Coltrin has been a life-long fan of The Bobbie and her husband, Charles, discovered the sandwich on a business trip to New Castle, DE and was instantly hooked. The two have been loyal fans of the food for years and have decided to jump into franchising to bring the brand to their hometown.
“Gray and I cannot wait to bring Capriotti’s to the Virginia Coast,” says Charles Coltrin. “We are confident the Hampton Roads area will fall in love with the high quality, flavorful sandwiches, just as we did. There are a lot of great places to eat in Newport News already, but we know a restaurant like Capriotti’s doesn’t exist yet.”
Capriotti’s has more than 100 fast-casual sandwich restaurant locations across the country, with a strong presence on the East Coast and West Coast. There is currently one other Virginia Capriotti’s location in Rosslyn.
“We are excited to further build momentum for the Capriotti’s brand on the East Coast,” says David Bloom, Chief Development Officer. “The Southeastern part of Virginia is experiencing growth in the restaurant space and we are happy to be a part of it with franchise partners that appreciate the quality of food as our differentiator.”
Capriotti’s will open 15 new shops in 2017 and aims to grow the brand to 500 locations by 2025 through franchising. Throughout Virginia, the brand is looking to partner with new franchisees in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Richmond, Lynchburg, Roanoke and the D.C. area.
