Our Story

Long before sandwiches were toasted and cookies were on straws, Peter Hastings and his wife owned an antique shop in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. This quirky shop was doing well, but the determined pair knew they could always do better. In 1977, they decided to start serving sandwiches to their curious, collecting customers. As time passed, the little antique shop slowly turned into the neighborhood lunchtime getaway. With lines reaching out the door and around the corner, customers enjoyed toasty warm sandwiches, homemade desserts and even live music in this unique atmosphere.

In 1996, entrepreneur Bryant Keil purchased the original shop and set out to spread the Potbelly love across the country, creating shops with the same neighborhood feel as the original. Today, the Potbelly magic continues as a publically traded company, with more than 400 neighborhood Potbelly Sandwich Shops across the globe.

What is a Potbelly anyway?

The first incredibly tasty warm sandwich was served over 30 years in Chicago. Since our start in 1977, Potbelly has grown to over 200 stores. We know what works and what doesn't, so we can support you as you accelerate your knowledge base so you can move your business forward. We are friendly, hard working people serving up simple, high quality food, made fast, as a surprisingly reasonable price.

Our Business Model

The Potbelly advantage is the foundation of everything we do. Its a clear expression of our intentions and our culture. How we look at the business, how we manage the business, and how we plan the business. We also believe in keeping it simple. We're always looking for ways to take the complexity out of the business with a focus on being the best place for lunch. Our goal is to create the Potbelly Nation and we want our customers to feel that we are the neighborhood sandwich shop.

Building the Potbelly Nation is done one neighborhood at a time and our franchise program is an important part of this approach. Our ideal franchisee is someone who wants to run the corner sandwich shop and really be a part of their neighborhood. We have a proven product and experience that will make you proud to run and own your neighborhood sandwich shop.

Hey, if you're successful, then we're successful. As a result, we support our franchisees with an amazing amount of training tools and services. Our training program is extensive and includes both classroom instruction and on-the-job training. Some of the topics we cover include:

• Design and Construction Process - How to build and open your Potbelly Sandwich Shop
• Pre-opening - Preparation for opening your new store
• Store Operations - What takes place inside the four walls of a Potbelly
• Promoting Potbelly in the Market - You will be your neighborhood ambassador for Potbelly
• Front of the House - Greeting customers and ensuring their experience in your dining room is memorable
• Back of the House - What goes on in the kitchen and the preparation of our delicious food
• Marketing and Advertising - Attracting and keeping customers
• Hiring Employees - Recruiting and retaining the best employees
• Technology - Using our technology and Point of Sale system to manage the business
• Ordering - Replenishing inventory and supply chain mechanics
• Business Management - Running a fundamentally sound business
• Financial Management - Keeping costs in line

And much more to help you manage and understand your business.

Potbelly is looking for "Potbelly People" to become franchisees. That means people that love working with a team, have solid business experience (not necessarily in restaurants), the financial qualifications, possess personal motivation and have been successful. Our franchise owner/operator model is a two person team. Whether a family partnership or a business partnership we are looking for an operating team that wants to be owners of the neighborhood sandwich shop within their community.