Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches was founded by a graduate of Elgin Academy.  To be exact it was started by Jimmy John Liautaud, who finished second to last in his class and was given an ultimatum by his father.  His father told him he could join the Army, go to college, or start a business.  He chose to start a hot dog business with a loan from his father.  He owned 52% of the business and his father owned 48%.  When he realized that opening a hot dog business was going to cost much more than the amount his father loaned him he decided to start a sandwich shop instead.

The first Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches was opened in a garage in Charleston, Illinois on January 13th of 1983.  The equipment was used and there was no menu or outdoor advertising.  The shop simply sold four different sandwiches and cokes for a quarter.  He gave samples out through the local area and his business took off.  His main customers were the college students at Eastern Illinois University.  He bought his father out in 1985 and became the sole owner.  Currently Jimmy still owns 67% of the company which has over 1000 stores in 39 states.

The Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches menu is known for fresh ingredients and they even cut their own meats right in the store.  The main thing they are known for is the bread that they use and the recently introduced thick cut wheat bread as well.  They serve over 25 different subs along with cookies, pickles, and coke products.  The subs range from the slims, which are smaller subs with less toppings to the J.J. Gargantuan, which is very large and topped with many items.

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches offers franchise opportunities in many areas.  They do require that franchisees have prior business experience and at least $80,000 in non-borrowed personal resources along with a net worth of at least $300,000.  They expect 6% of gross sales to be paid in royalties and 4.5% of the gross sales to be paid for ongoing advertising as well.  It will take about 6 to 8 months to get the store ready to be opened and all franchisees have to participate in a 7 week training program with 3 weeks of this training happening in Champaign, Illinois and 4 weeks of an apprenticeship program in a franchised location.