Jersey Mike's Is Crossing The Border
Rapidly growing Jersey Mike's is expanding into Canada for the first time.
Fast-growing American sandwich chain Jersey Mike's is making some big moves by inking a major deal in Canada. This marks the first significant expansion of Jersey Mike's into an international market. With all those new locations, what can we expect from the brand in the coming months?
Jersey Mike’s plans for Canada
A press release has announced that Jersey Mike's is expanding into Canada with help from a franchisee of Taco Bell and Burger King, Ontario-based Redberry Restaurants. Redberry plans on mixing it up by operating some of the Jersey Mike's restaurants itself while sub-franchising other locations.
Redberry has also agreed to take over the only two existing Jersey Mike's locations in Kitchener and London, Ontario, and bring them up to speed by renovating the spaces. The short-term plan for this year is to add an additional five markets in Ontario, then eventually install locations across all Canadian provinces, with 300 total planned by 2034. That's a lot of subs.
The only other international Jersey Mike's location is a lone store in Guadalajara, Mexico. In total, there are more than 3,000 store locations open and in development, almost all in the U.S., save for those three stores mentioned above.
Jersey Mike’s vs. Subway’s sandwiches
A sub shop named Jersey Mike's might evoke images of cold cuts on a long roll, but it stands apart from its competitors, Subway and Jimmy John's, because it also serves hot sandwiches.
While Subway does offer a toasted option, it doesn't serve freshly griddled meat. Jersey Mike's makes its cheesesteaks (steak, chicken, or mushroom) fresh on site. That's a welcome departure from the usual decked-out Italian cold-cut meats, which to me, can feel a little monotonous after a while.
Jersey Mike’s has Danny DeVito in its corner
If you had to guess which celebrity was first to endorse Jersey Mike's, who would you immediately think of? I'm assuming Danny DeVito isn't the first person who springs to mind, and yet he became the chain's first celebrity spokesperson in 2022.
The connection might not seem obvious at first, but DeVito actually grew up down the street from Jersey Mike's first location, which opened in 1956. With Jersey Mike's continued growth, I'm sure more celebrities will soon join the list of endorsements. Maybe the next one will be Canadian.