A Legendary Journey: From Teen Submaker to Billionaire
The annals of fast-food founders include some legendary entrepreneurs, from Colonel Sanders to Ray Kroc. Based on a recent Forbes profile, Peter Cancro, founder of the sub-sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s, might be a worthy addition to that list.
Cancro started working at a local sub shop on the Jersey Shore as a teenager, with plans to move away after high school, play college football, and become a lawyer — until the sub shop went up for sale. He persuaded a local banker, who also happened to be his former football coach, to lend him $125,000 to make the purchase. The rest is history.
Rapid Growth and Impressive Sales
Today, Cancro is worth nearly $6 billion, Forbes says — more than Mark Cuban or Steven Spielberg. Jersey Mike’s growth has been stratospheric, averaging 20% annual sales increases over the past five years to $3.3 billion in 2023. The chain has outpaced all but four other U.S. food chains, according to Forbes: the fast-casual restaurant Cava, the chicken chain Raising Cane’s, and two coffee chains, Scooter’s and Dutch Bros.
Staying True to Its Roots
Although Jersey Mike’s has 3,000 locations, Cancro still wants people to see his stores as the local sub shop. Every sub is made fresh, while customers watch. And Cancro is not done yet. He intends to open 5,000 more U.S. stores over the next five years. An advertising push features fellow Jersey Shore native Danny DeVito break-dancing and traveling to his mental “happy place” as he watches Jersey Mike’s employees prepare his sub
Family, Loyalty, and the Jersey Connection
Cancro is “a Jersey guy, through and through,” Forbes reports. Trainees take a course in New Jersey history. His wife, three of his four children, and his brother all work for the company. Nearly all of the 185 people working at the chain’s Manasquan, N.J., headquarters are from the area. One executive jokes that joining the company “was kind of like getting in the mob.”
What’s Next for Jersey Mike’s?
Whether Jersey Mike’s can retain that hometown feel remains to be seen. Two of his biggest rivals, Subway and Jimmy John’s, sold out to private equity firms in recent years, and another competitor, Firehouse Subs, was bought by Restaurant Brands International. Cancro acknowledges that he has talked to numerous wannabe acquirers, but he is telling no secrets. “I worked my whole life,” he told Forbes, “to be right where we are right now.”
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