Jersey Mike's CEO talks IPO, lettuce and Danny DeVito
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Jersey Mike's, the sub chain bought just last year by Blackstone, raised $1 billion in its IPO and today began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Why it matters: It's a rare 2026 bright spot for a restaurant industry that's been beset by high food costs and a recent parasite outbreak, even though its opening trades were below the IPO price.
- It also could boost the IPO prospects for Inspire Brands, the parent company of Dunkin, Arby's and Jimmy John's.
What they're saying: Axios today spoke with Charlie Morrison, the former Wingstop CEO who Blackstone put in charge of Jersey Mike's.
- What follows was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Axios: You took Wingstop public over a decade ago. What was the biggest difference between that IPO process and this one?
Charlie Morrison: "There's a lot more involved conversations that happen well in advance of the roadshow and IPO."
- "These days there's something called 'testing the waters' which can span for several months, where you meet with investors and gain insights into how they're thinking. It's very involved, but I like it, because you develop good relationships with your investors."
None of the cyclospora outbreak has been tied to Jersey Mike's, but how is it impacting your business?
"No impacts. We do use iceberg lettuce, but buy it all from the Salinas region in California and it comes to us as whole heads, not pre-bagged. And then we peel a couple of layers off."
It hasn't caused reduced lettuce requests from customers?
"Some customers will ask us about it, and they always have the option on what ingredients to use. But we also respond by saying that we have the utmost confidence in our product."
You currently have 3,300 stores. Does future store growth come in the U.S. or elsewhere?
"Both. The 3,300 is in the U.S. and we believe we could have a total of 7,500 or more here. There's a lot of white space available to us."
- "Internationally, we've had real good success in Canada, and are getting ready to open in the U.K. and Ireland before year-end, so a total potential of 15,000 stores."
When you say 'white space,' is that just geographies without a Jersey Mike's or ones that also don't have a rival like Subway?
"We don't worry about who else is in the market with us. We steal [business] from the bowls like Chipotle and from other places that are different from us, like Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A."
Wingstop was owned by private equity firm Roark Capital before it went public. Roark now owns Jimmy John's, whose parent company is preparing an IPO. Is it weird to now compete with Roark?
"No, not at all. We're all friends in this business. Roark also owns Subway, and we're stealing a ton of share from them."
Danny DeVito, who stars in Jersey Mike's ads, helped you ring the NYSE bell this morning. Does he get free subs ?
"If Danny calls me and needs a sub, we'll be happy to give it to him for the rest of his life."
