Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 28, 2009
Weekly Indulgence
Samara Litvack
Jimmy John’s was started in 1983 by a guy named (what else?) Jimmy John in Charleston, Ill. When he opened his first store, he’d intended on starting a hot dog shop. Once he realized the cost of the equipment required to run a hot dog shop, he changed his vision to sandwiches.
He opened his store with his three best friends, assuming they could work all the hard shifts and he’d have the easy ones for himself. The bad news: his friends soon ditched him. The good news: he saw a dramatic increase in profit when they did, and soon was able to open another store.
Two years later, Jimmy John opened another store. Two years later, he expanded across the state line, and the Jimmy John’s franchise has been growing rapidly ever since.
Fast forward now to 2009, when Jimmy John’s first graces Chattanooga with its presence. Chicagoan Richard Pemble wanted to open a franchise and couldn’t decide where to do so. He didn’t want to stay in Chicago, and the Midwest was already pretty saturated with the chain, so he began looking elsewhere for a location. He considered 20 to 30 cities that fit a
certain criteria and, as he put it, Chattanooga was the first city to fit the bill.
“We were looking at a lot of smaller towns, university towns, and they weren’t cutting it,” Richard said. “They weren’t attractive. We came here and we said, ‘We like this.’”
And Chattanoogans should consider themselves lucky.
One of the many things Jimmy John’s has going for it is its awesome delivery policy. The minimum delivery order is one sandwich – from the Slim, at $3.49, to the J.J. Gargantuan, at $7.49. No matter the size of the delivery, customers are only charged a quarter per sandwich to have it brought to their doors.
The only catch: Jimmy John’s delivers in a five-minute radius of the restaurant. (Sorry, North Shore tenants. It’s a corporate policy. They can’t make it past Frazier Avenue.)
But that’s good news for those of us who live or work within Jimmy John’s parameters. (I’m on 4th Street, and Richard said that was no problem at all. Students on campus are included, too.) But rather than delivery, my first Jimmy John’s experience was live and in person. I went on a Tuesday afternoon for lunch and was impressed when I entered the door.
Jimmy John’s isn’t your usual sandwich shop. Top 40 music blared through the speakers. A young, energetic staff worked diligently behind the counter, preparing subs at a pace I’d never before seen. And Jimmy John’s menu hung above the register, with a fantastic assortment of subs.
I asked the young man behind the counter what he liked best, and he didn’t hesitate. His favorite was number 16, the Club Lulu, made with fresh sliced turkey breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo. He suggested this one because he “loves their bacon.” I said if he loved it, I’d love it. So I ordered one of those.
My friend ordered a number 8, the Billy Club. Made with choice roast beef, smoked ham, provolone cheese, dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato and mayo, this sandwich was a little out of my comfort zone, but I was excited to give it a try.
Before we made it to the end of the counter, our order numbers were being called. I swear to you, this is the fastest sandwich making I have seen in my entire life. I looked at my friend, mouth half open in surprise.
“Is this really ours already?” I asked.
“It is,” the guy behind the counter answered with a smile.
I was thoroughly impressed.
(Richard says on slower days, the staff has the sandwich to the customers before they’ve even left the register.)
I was pleasantly surprised by Jimmy John’s quickness, but I was even more taken aback by the quality of the food. The meat – all of which is sliced fresh, in house – was amazing. The vegetables were fresh, plentiful on each sandwich and tasty, to boot. The bread, baked in house, is never more than four hours old. (Once it reaches its shelf life, they sell it for 50 cents a loaf. No kidding.)
The roast beef was amazing. The turkey was amazing. And, like the guy who took my order had promised, the bacon was out of this world.
Even the chips, with Jimmy John’s name on the label, were better than just about any I’d ever tasted. I got the barbecue and they were sweeter than I expected, which is always a good thing, and crunchy, but not too much so.
I also splurged and got a Jimmy John’s cookie, and boy, was I glad I did. I got the chocolate chip, which could have been plain and, let’s face it, slightly boring. But this cookie was anything but. It was packed full of chocolate chunks, which were so chocolatey, I had to take a few extra sips of my drink. (That’s a great thing.) And it had the most scrumptious buttery aftertaste. It was a great way to finish off a great meal.
Richard explained that Jimmy John perfected the chips and the cookies himself (and also the kosher dill pickles that I have to go back and try) because he wasn’t exactly happy with the available product. In this franchise, only high-end products are used – Grey Poupon Dijon mustard, Chicken of the Sea tuna, Hellmann’s mayo. This complements the fresh- cut meat and fresh-baked bread very well, and Jimmy John wanted side items to match.
If you haven’t checked out Jimmy John’s yet, I have to ask: What are you waiting for? Visit them at 973 Market Street, in the EPB building; check them out online at www.jimmyjohns.com; or call in a delivery order at 423-305-6900.
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