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Mike ’ s
“ That ’ s right ,” Michael confirms . “ Our concept means everything is freshly made , sliced , or grilled right before the customer , as every sub is made to order . We ’ re more of an old-style corner deli , using quality meats and fresh ingredients , freshly baking our bread every day , as well as our cookies . With almost 3000 stores open , we invest in training to ensure all stores can pull off ‘ made in front of you ’ service , and we have become a training company .
“ Each store manager goes through more than 500 hours of training , as the foundation of this business was always operationally driven . It may sound simple , but the complexity of making a sandwich is multiplied when a customer is standing three feet away from you ; the sandwich must correctly reflect the order , but you also must ensure it is visually appealing and most importantly , tasty !”
... our ‘ Day of Giving ’ was born , and to this day , we ’ ve donated almost $ 90 million to local charities
With this in mind , our conversation turns to the menu . “ We have two bestsellers – the # 7 , turkey sub with provolone cheese , or the # 13 , the Italian sub – I genuinely couldn ’ t put one of these before the other in terms of popularity ,” he ponders . “ Our cheese steaks are a close second , whether it ’ s the chipotle chicken , bacon ranch , big kahuna , California chicken , or portabella mushrooms grilled fresh with American cheese and served hot .
“ The question we get asked most about our menu is why our numbers aren ’ t in order . They once were in order , but some of the options weren ’ t selling enough to warrant a space on our permanent menu board and were retired .
“ We don ’ t have a # 4 on our menu , for instance , but we actually do still have a # 4 , which is provolone cheese , prosciutto , and capicola . All our retired subs are stored in our inventory ; we still make them on request , but they ’ re not advertised on our permanent menu .
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