A sandwich shop that began at the Jersey Shore and expanded across the country, including in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas, is getting a multi-billion-dollar infusion.
Jersey Mike’s announced Tuesday that it sold a significant stake in the company to private equity firm Blackstone. The deal is estimated to be worth about $8 billion, including debt.
Blackstone confirmed it had acquired a “majority ownership position” in Jersey Mike’s.
The deal is expected to close in 2025.
The move ends Jersey Mike’s run as an independently owned business, which crawled its way to the top of the submarine sandwich heap.
Jersey Mike’s traces its roots to 1975, when a then 17-year-old Peter Cancro was working at a sandwich shop at Point Pleasant, New Jersey. He ended up buying the place, then called Mike’s Subs.
Cancro later renamed the brand and started franchising it, eventually growing Jersey Mike’s to about 3,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The shop has several locations in the 69 News viewing area, including Bethlehem, Whitehall, Easton, and Quakertown.
CNN reports that Jersey Mike’s is the second-largest sandwich chain behind Subway in sales.
Subway was acquired by Roark Capital, the parent company of chains like Arby’s, Cheesecake Factory and Jimmy John’s, in 2024.