Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches Business Overview

About Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

Jimmy John's makes tasty sandwiches using real, fresh ingredients. Homemade bread is baked fresh all day, and all-natural meats and freshly delivered veggies are hand sliced in-store every day. With 2,772 stores open in 43 states, Jimmy John's is one of the fastest growing quick-service restaurants in the U.S.

Company History

Jimmy John Liautaud opened the doors to the first Jimmy John's in Charleston, Illinois on January 13, 1983. After graduating second to last in his high school class, Jimmy knew college was not for him. With a $25,000 loan from his father to open up a business, he chose to open a sandwich shop.

Jimmy's beginnings in the shop shaped the company's culture and future success. He had to overcome large odds and frequent obstacles in the beginning. His managers quit, forcing him to work 20-hour days, every day for 6 months. During this time he developed processes in the shop that employees still use today. Jimmy also took the toughest tasks for himself, giving the easier items to his manager. He learned that by serving his manager and setting him up for success, he could better serve his customers.

In 1994, Jimmy began franchising. Fast forward to 2002, Jimmy stopped selling franchises for one year to provide support for struggling stores. Helping these stores turn around was tough, but it also helped Jimmy reset expectations for existing franchisees, and raised the standards under which he would approve future franchisees. The 500th Jimmy John's opened in 2007, the 1,000th in 2010, and in the fall of 2014, Jimmy John's reached 2,000 stores.

This web page does not constitute a franchise offering or an offer to sell a franchise. A franchise offering can be made by us only in a state if we are first registered, excluded, exempted or otherwise qualified to offer franchises in that state, and only if we provide you with an appropriate franchise disclosure document.