Jimmy John's is franchised sandwich restaurant owned by Jimmy John Liautaud. The restaurant was founded in 1983 and has since grown to nearly 682 stores, with many locations in college towns. Their headquarters is located in Champaign, Illinois.

It is not to be confused with Jimmy John's Pipin Hot Sandwiches in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which specializes in hot dogs and is known for its assortment of electric trains.^[1]

History

After founder Jimmy John Liautaud graduated second-to-last from Elgin Academy in 1982 high school class, his options were joining the Army, college, or starting a business. He chose to start a business.

Inspired by Portillo's, Liautaud's father loaned him $25,000 to start his own hot dog business. If the business was successful, he would own 52% of it and his father would own 48%. If it failed, he would join the Army.

After Liautaud realized it would cost nearly twice as much as the loan to start a hot dog business, he ventured down the sandwich shop route. A nearby neighbor told Liautaud that the secret of a successful sandwich was in the bread. He started baking bread in his mother's kitchen, bought the most expensive meats from Dominick's and had several family members vote on the top four sandwiches he created.http://www.jimmyjohns.com/history.html

The first Jimmy John's opened in a garage in Charleston, Illinois on January 13, 1983, with used equipment, without a menu or outdoor advertisement, selling the four sandwiches and 25-cent Cokes. After giving samples out around town, his business began to thrive. He especially catered to college students at Eastern Illinois University. After two friends backed out as managers, he ran the store himself for the first few years, working seven days a week from open to close.http://www.jimmyjohns.com/history.html

In April 1985, he bought out his father's side of the business and became sole owner. He opened his second store in Macomb, Illinois, and, after manager William "Billy" Burns was killed in a car accident, he ran the second store himself for a few months. Liautaud went on to honor Burns by naming the "Billy Club" sandwich after him, which remains a popular menu item.

He would later open several more stores, and he developed a prototype before franchising began in 1993.

Current statistics

States with Jimmy John's Restaurants

Miscellanea

Since many Jimmy John's shops are located in college towns, many of the decorations in the shops are designed to appeal to that market, with witty phrases like "the customer is usually right", "your mom wants you to eat at Jimmy John's","We'd love to see you naked but state code requires a shirt and shoes" ,"Free Smells", "bread so French it must be liberated!", which is a campy version of the classic "no smoking" sign, and, for employment opportunities, "Rock stars wanted". Many of these signs are designed to look rustic, with old fashioned text and, in the case of a metal sign, faux rust.

Most Jimmy John's shops feature a large picture of Jimmy himself surrounded by his products.

In 2007 Jimmy John's sponsored NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace in the #2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet during the Gateway 250 at Gateway International Raceway. Jimmy John's will be a part-time sponsor on the #66 Rusty Wallace, Inc. Chevrolet driven by Steve Wallace during the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Comedian Mitch Hedberg was briefly hired as a spokesman for several radio spots utilizing his unique comedy stylings "Eating deli meat with artificial ingredients is like eating a turkey breast...with implants!"

References

External links

• Jimmy John's website
• "Jimmy John's born from tough love" McHenry County Business Journal article