PrimoHoagies, known for its gourmet hoagies with high-quality meats and cheeses piled high on fresh-baked seeded rolls, will continue its drive across the country in 2023 with stores opening in five new states – Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, and Texas – extending its presence across 12 states in total.
After its most successful year of sales in 2020, the company continued to see growth with a 21% year-over-year increase in gross sales in 2021 and another 18% year-over-year increase in gross sales in 2022. Additionally, the AUV of PrimoHoagies Franchising, Inc.’s top 25% of stores increased from $1.09M in 2020 to $1.28M in 2021 and to $1.35M in 2022.
Fueled by this successful business model, PrimoHoagies sold 47 franchise locations in 2021 and another 48 in 2022, with new stores including non-traditional sites such as the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. Consumer demand has also sparked additional locations in established markets along the East Coast, including new stores around Florida State University and the University of Florida.
PrimoHoagies credits this tremendous success to its commitment to ongoing enhancements in customer service and franchisee support. The brand recently implemented a new point-of-sale (POS) system and has doubled the number of corporate employees in the past year, including a finance department focused on helping franchisees increase store revenues. This spring, the company will launch a new customer loyalty program with expanded rewards for members.
“We’re thrilled to kick off the new year by introducing the Primo Difference to Texas, Colorado, Michigan, and Louisiana and, later this year, to Albany, New York,” says Nicholas Papanier Jr., owner, president, and CEO of PrimoHoagies. “Over the past few years, we’ve been hyper-focused on building and improving our infrastructure to support our franchisees and drive explosive growth. And we are well on our way toward opening 300-350 PrimoHoagies locations in the next five years!”
Last year, PrimoHoagies also expanded its community outreach through PrimoCares, the brand’s charitable organization. In addition to its annual toy drive and delivery to children in need, the company launched the Season of Giving Giveaway in November. The public was invited to nominate an individual or family experiencing hardship for the opportunity to receive $1,000 during the holiday season. Every week from November 4 through December 23, one (or more) winner per week was announced.
“We are dedicated to bringing our customers the very best hoagies, made with the freshest ingredients and a level of quality that can’t be beat,” Papanier Jr. adds. “We can’t wait to introduce even more customers to the PrimoHoagies experience and become a part of their local communities.”
Using recipes passed down through the generations for its iconic hoagies, PrimoHoagies layers Thumann’s gourmet meats and cheeses, a secret blend of spices, and locally sourced, fresh vegetables onto award-winning, seeded rolls that are baked fresh throughout the day. The casual restaurant’s diverse menu features a wide variety of cold and hot hoagies, cheesesteaks, wraps, vegetarian options, sides, chips, drinks, cookies, desserts, and more.
