Potbelly Sandwich Works
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1977 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Key people | Bryant Keil Chairman Aylwin Lewis, President & CEO |
| Industry | Fast casual |
| Products | Sandwiches, Salads, Soups, Ice Cream |
| Website | www.potbelly.com |
Potbelly Sandwich Works is a restaurant chain that sells submarine sandwiches in the United States. Its name is derived from potbelly stoves common in the late 19th century. The company is headquartered in the tower of Chicago's Merchandise Mart.
[edit] History
Potbelly Sandwich Works began in a Chicago antique store in 1977 by brothers Art and Peter Hastings at 2264 N. Lincoln Avenue. All locations share an antique store theme. In 1998, the chain expanded to locations outside of the Chicago area, after being purchased by Bryant L. Keil, who expanded Potbelly from its original location to over 200 stores today. [1] Potbelly now has stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
Potbelly's menu features a variety of sandwiches that are all served hot on regular or wheat bread. All sandwiches can be ordered "thin-cut" style, in which one third of the bread is cut out. The chain began offering salads in February 2007. The menu also includes soup, shakes, malts, and cookies. Most restaurants feature live music from local musicians during their lunch hours. The name of the store derives from Peter Hastings' hobby of restoring old potbelly stoves.
Rooted in the environmentalism and localism of 1970s Lincoln Park, the original Potbelly store cut its rolls from full loaves of freshly baked Gonnella bread delivered every morning in a single large cardboard box.
The store also did early recycling of cans and other materials, but they have stopped recycling. In the original store, there still is a downspout for this purpose leading to the basement, but it is not operational. The famous trash area also had two holes, one labeled for cans and bottles and one for regular garbage.
On November 5, 2007, a new Potbelly store in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, became the first to feature a drive-through. A second drive-through store was added shortly after in Waukegan, Illinois.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
