Jersey Mike's Subs franchise
A franchisee operates a Jersey Mike's restaurant serving made-to-order submarine and other sandwiches, related food products and beverages for on-premises and off-premises consumption, typically from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet of leased retail shopping-centre space.
Owner-operator required Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-04-10, amended 2026-08-26
- Item
- Item 15
- Page
- PDF p. 47
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640926
under the direct, on-premises supervision of you or your Controlling Principal (if you are an entity)
Item 15 requires the restaurant to be under the direct, on-premises supervision of the franchisee or, for an entity franchisee, its Controlling Principal. The alternative of a trained, franchisor-approved full-time manager or shift supervisor is expressly conditioned on the franchisee operating more than one restaurant, so a single-unit owner is on the hook personally. A Controlling Principal must be approved by the franchisor, must own at least 10% of the franchisee entity and must complete all required training. A following paragraph adds that the franchisee, the Controlling Principal or a designated and approved manager must devote full-time energy and best efforts to the restaurant, which reads more permissively than the first paragraph; the two are not reconciled in the item.
What stands out
- Total initial investment of $436,176 to $1,162,228 for a leased traditional restaurant; the Item 7 line items foot exactly to both ends of the range, and only three months of working capital is included.
- Mandatory fees to the franchisor at signing are a $10,000 development fee plus a $20,000 initial franchise fee; with grand opening advertising and pre-opening technology charges, $47,250 to $49,250 goes to the franchisor in total.
- Ongoing fees are a 6.5% royalty drafted weekly plus 5% of Gross Receipts to two advertising funds, which the franchisor may raise to 6% in aggregate on 90 days' notice, with a possible co-operative levy of up to 2% on top.
5 more observations
- Item 19 shows sales only for one year: 2,606 restaurants open more than 360 days averaged $1,367,578 with a median of $1,305,850, and 44% met or exceeded the average. No cost, margin or profit data is disclosed.
- Item 19 excludes the 583 restaurants that had been open fewer than 361 days, so nothing in the item describes the first-year performance a new franchisee would experience.
- Franchised outlets grew from 2,361 to 3,201 across 2023–2025 with no terminations or non-renewals recorded; 563 franchise agreements were signed but not yet open at fiscal year end and 260 openings are projected for 2026.
- The franchisee does not receive an exclusive territory: the Designated Area is typically only a 0.5 to 1 mile radius, and the franchisor reserves online, wholesale, non-traditional venue and other-brand channels inside it.
- The special risks page discloses that a franchisee's spouse must sign a guaranty making them liable for all financial obligations under the franchise agreement, even without an ownership interest.
Things to verify
- Ask for restaurant-level cost data — food, labour, rent, royalty and fund contributions — since Item 19 discloses revenue only and says nothing about what an owner keeps.
- Ask what first-year and second-year sales look like for recently opened restaurants, since Item 19 excludes the 583 restaurants open fewer than 361 days.
- Ask why transfers between franchisees nearly tripled to 218 in 2025 and what proportion were distressed sales rather than planned exits.
5 more questions
- Confirm how the eight affiliate restaurants reclassified as franchised in 2025 are counted, and ask for the underlying figure for genuine new openings.
- Ask whether the franchisor intends to raise advertising fund contributions toward the 6% cap or to create an advertising co-operative that could add up to 2% more.
- Confirm what a 0.5 to 1 mile Designated Area means in the specific target market, and how close the franchisor may place the next restaurant.
- Understand the spousal guaranty and the personal guaranty required at transfer before signing, and take advice on the two-year post-term non-compete covering a whole metropolitan statistical area.
- Confirm any liquid capital or net worth screen the franchisor applies, since none is stated anywhere in the document, and ask how the Blackstone ownership and the 2026 public listing may change fees, supply terms or support.
Category cost placeholders, not a forecast. Owner operation is required; a manager-pay deduction does not make this an absentee model. This snapshot uses the default inputs; the calculator below updates when you edit them.
Evidence confidence: High. This describes source support, not investment quality. AI-extracted and machine-verified where stated; no human line-by-line review. Source and review record.
Read the full research overview
A Jersey Mike's franchisee operates a single quick-service restaurant selling made-to-order submarine and other sandwiches for eat-in, takeaway, delivery and catering, typically from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet of leased shopping-centre space. The structure is unusual in that every franchisee signs an Area Development Agreement before any Franchise Agreement, even for one restaurant. The franchisor is A Sub Above, LLC, a Blackstone-controlled entity since January 2025 whose ultimate parent completed a stock market listing in July 2026; the concept itself dates to a Point Pleasant, New Jersey shop that traded from 1956 and has been franchised since February 1987.
Item 7 estimates the total initial investment at $436,176 to $1,162,228 for a leased traditional restaurant, and the table foots exactly at both ends. The spread comes mostly from leasehold improvements at $147,495 to $658,581. Of the total, $47,250 to $49,250 goes to the franchisor: a $10,000 development fee, a $20,000 initial franchise fee, $10,000 for grand opening advertising and $7,250 to $9,250 of pre-opening technology charges. Only three months of working capital is built in, and that excludes debt service and any owner's salary. Continuing costs are a 6.5% royalty on Gross Receipts drafted weekly, 5% in advertising fund contributions that can rise to 6%, and a software and support package of $395 a month that may rise to $795, plus per-transaction online ordering charges.
Item 19 gives one table and one year. The 2,606 traditional franchised restaurants open more than 360 days in the fiscal year ended December 28, 2025 averaged $1,367,578 in Unit Volume, with a median of $1,305,850, a low of $512,332 and a high of $3,228,616; 44% met or beat the average. It shows no costs, no margins and no profit of any kind, and it excludes the 583 restaurants open less than 361 days — the cohort closest to a new franchisee's first year.
Item 20 shows fast growth: franchised outlets rose from 2,361 to 3,201 over three years, a net gain of 840 on 874 openings, with no terminations or non-renewals recorded and 28 outlets ceasing operations for other reasons. Eight of the 259 openings counted in 2025 were affiliate restaurants reclassified as franchised. Transfers between franchisees jumped from 77 in 2024 to 218 in 2025, and 563 franchise agreements were signed but not yet open at year end. Item 3 lists only three matters, all consumer or regulatory rather than franchisee disputes. The main contractual weights are a spousal guaranty disclosed as a special risk, arbitration in Monmouth County, New Jersey, a term of 10 years from opening with one 10-year successor term at $20,000, a Designated Area of only half a mile to a mile with no exclusivity, and a post-term non-compete of 2 years across the restaurant's whole metropolitan area. Liquid capital and net worth requirements are not disclosed in the reviewed source.
View ratings and their supporting evidence
Transparent ratings
How these are computedEach dimension is scored 1–5 from published formulas. Missing data yields “Not enough evidence to rate”, never a low score. There is no composite score by design.
How the system has performed, computed from the disclosed Items 7, 19 and 20. Figures a documented material source inconsistency puts in doubt are excluded, and the dimension shows “Not rated”.
Inputs
- Franchised outlets 2361 → 3201 (Item 20, Table 3)
- Thresholds: ≥15% → 5; 5–15% → 4; 0–5% → 3; −5–0% → 2; below −5% → 1
Inputs
- Attrition = (terminations + non-renewals + reacquisitions + ceased-other) ÷ start-of-year franchised units, averaged over 3 fiscal years
- Thresholds: <2% → 5; 2–4% → 4; 4–6% → 3; 6–10% → 2; >10% → 1
Inputs
- AUV $1,367,578 (disclosed) ÷ midpoint investment $799,202 = 1.71×
- Thresholds: ≥2.0 → 5; 1.5–2.0 → 4; 1.0–1.5 → 3; 0.7–1.0 → 2; <0.7 → 1
How much this brand’s FDD discloses, and how well-supported our data on it is. This measures transparency, not business performance — a strong business that discloses little scores low here and stays unrated above.
Inputs
- Item 19 present (+1)
- Average plus median or a distribution (+1)
- Population 81% of franchised units, clearly described (+1)
- Franchisor Track Record
- Franchising 39 years (since 1987) · 3,227 outlets · Item 3: 3 matter(s) disclosed · Item 4: none disclosed
- Multi-Unit Scalability
- Multi-unit development is the default structure rather than an add-on: every franchisee must sign an Area Development Agreement before signing any Franchise … · Owner-operator required
- Operational Intensity
- Owner-operator required
Initial investment
FDD Items 5 and 7Format shown: Single traditional Jersey Mike's Restaurant of roughly 1,000–2,000 sq ft in a leased retail shopping centre (excludes international, non-traditional, standalone and drive-thru formats)
$436,176–$1,162,228 total initial investment. Excludes real estate purchase. Includes 3 months of additional funds.
View full investment breakdown — Items 5 & 7
| Initial franchise fee (the named Item 5 fee only) | $20,000 Disclosed
Reduced to $8,500 in FY2025 for certain existing franchisees acquiring additional restaurants; not the standard new-franchisee rate. Other required Item 5 payments to the franchisor are listed separately below — this figure is the named fee only. |
|---|---|
| Other required initial payments to the franchisor (Item 5) |
|
| Total Item 5 payments to franchisor/affiliates | $47,250 Derived
$49,250 Derived
|
| Total initial investment — low | $436,176 Disclosed
The Item 7 line items sum exactly to the printed total of $436,176. The cover page states the same range. |
| Total initial investment — high | $1,162,228 Disclosed
The Item 7 line items sum exactly to the printed total of $1,162,228. The spread is driven mainly by leasehold improvements ($147,495–$658,581). |
| Midpoint of range | $799,202 Derived
|
| Real estate purchase included? | No — assumes a leased site |
| Additional funds assumed | 3 months |
| Required liquid capital | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No minimum liquid-capital requirement is stated on the cover pages or in Items 1, 5, 7, 11, 15 or 20 of the reviewed document. |
| Required net worth | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No minimum net-worth requirement for franchisees is stated in the reviewed document. The only net-worth reference is the Michigan cover-page escrow provision, which concerns the franchisor's own net worth. |
The chart assumes a leased restaurant of roughly 1,000 to 2,000 square feet in a retail shopping centre; there is no land or building purchase line and note 15 states the figures exclude international, non-traditional, standalone and drive-thru locations. Working capital covers only the first three months of operation and explicitly excludes debt service, living expenses and the owner's salary. Every line item foots to the printed total at both ends of the range. Of the total, $47,250 to $49,250 is payable to the franchisor itself (development fee, initial franchise fee, grand opening advertising, POS network connection, POS licence and credit-card software). The franchisor does not offer financing except through the Coach Rod Smith Program, under which qualified managers of existing restaurants may receive financing from the affiliate manager JMFS and may be permitted to finance the initial franchise fee.
Item 7 line items (20)
| Expenditure | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Development fee — Per restaurant committed; due on signing the Area Development Agreement. | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Initial franchise fee — Due on signing the Franchise Agreement for each location. | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Rent/lease, CAM, taxes and lease/utility security deposits — First three months; low end assumes free rent and no security deposit. | $10,579 | $19,848 |
| Architectural fees | $8,412 | $29,827 |
| Leasehold improvements — Higher if HVAC, hood exhaust, grease traps or a freestanding build-out are required. | $147,495 | $658,581 |
| Equipment, furniture and small wares — From designated or approved suppliers only. | $138,434 | $159,872 |
| Initial inventory | $13,805 | $25,797 |
| Insurance | $4,125 | $21,670 |
| Training expenses — Travel, meals, lodging and staff salaries for training; the franchisor charges no separate initial training fee. | $14,299 | $27,879 |
| Grand opening advertising — Paid to the franchisor, which controls how it is spent. | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Exterior signage — High end includes $500–$7,500 of highway signage where required. | $12,087 | $38,838 |
| Interior branding and graphics | $3,507 | $10,419 |
| Uniforms, office equipment and supplies, TV/stereo and security systems | $6,116 | $19,458 |
| POS system hardware and software — About $7,500 per register; typically 1 to 2 registers. | $7,500 | $15,000 |
| POS connection to the franchisor's private network — Paid to the franchisor. | $4,500 | $4,500 |
| POS licence fee — $2,000 per register, paid to the franchisor. | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| Initial credit card processing software fee — Paid to the franchisor. | $750 | $750 |
| Professional fees (lawyer, accountant) | $4,577 | $28,234 |
| Business licences and permits | $500 | $25,000 |
| Additional funds — 3 months — Excludes debt service, living expenses and the owner's own salary. | $17,490 | $32,555 |
Source for every row: the Item 7 estimated-initial-investment table of 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's) (table begins PDF p. 23) — rows inherit the table's citation rather than carrying fifteen identical ones.
Ongoing fees
FDD Item 6Royalty
6.5% of gross sales Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-04-10, amended 2026-08-26
- Item
- Item 6 — Other Fees table — Continuing Royalty Fees
- Page
- PDF p. 15
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640926
6.5% of Gross Receipts
6.5% of Gross Receipts, collected weekly by wire transfer or ACH; the franchisor may change the payment frequency at any time, including to daily. Gross Receipts covers all food, beverage, merchandise and service sales including off-site and catering sales, less sales taxes, customer refunds, discounts and coupons, and includes business-interruption insurance proceeds. If required reports are not delivered on time the franchisor may draft 110% of the last reported week's Gross Receipts.
Brand advertising fund
5%–6% of gross sales Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-04-10, amended 2026-08-26
- Item
- Item 6 — Other Fees table — Corporate Advertising and Development Fund; National Media Fund
- Page
- PDF p. 16
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640926
Two mandatory fund contributions payable with the royalty: 1% of Gross Receipts to the Corporate Advertising and Development Fund and 4% to the National Media Fund, 5% in total today. Either may be raised on 90 days' notice, but the combined total is capped at 6% of Gross Receipts. The franchisor may reallocate money between the funds at its discretion, is not required to spend anything in the franchisee's own area, and has no franchisee advertising council. Affiliate-owned restaurants contribute on the same basis; some non-traditional venue operators contribute less or not at all. Citation audit 2026-09-04: page corrected 15 -> 16 (value verified on p. 16).
Local marketing
Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosed
Not disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures.
Neither Item 6 nor Item 11 imposes a minimum local advertising spend on the franchisee. All required advertising spending flows through the two national funds and, if the franchisor forms one, a local or regional co-operative. Franchisees must submit all local advertising and promotional materials to the franchisor for prior written approval.
Core requirements shown separately; caps, credits and conditions may overlap. Check the full schedule for technology, cooperative, transfer and other charges.
View all recurring fees and conditions
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales Disclosed
6.5% of Gross Receipts, collected weekly by wire transfer or ACH; the franchisor may change the payment frequency at any time, including to daily. Gross Receipts covers all food, beverage, merchandise and service sales including off-site and catering sales, less sales taxes, customer refunds, discounts and coupons, and includes business-interruption insurance proceeds. If required reports are not delivered on time the franchisor may draft 110% of the last reported week's Gross Receipts. 6.5% of Gross Receipts, collected weekly by wire transfer or ACH; the franchisor may change the payment frequency at any time, including to daily. Gross Receipts covers all food, beverage, merchandise and service sales including off-site and catering sales, less sales taxes, customer refunds, discounts and coupons, and includes business-interruption insurance proceeds. If required reports are not delivered on time the franchisor may draft 110% of the last reported week's Gross Receipts. |
|---|---|
| Advertising / brand fund | 5%–6% of gross sales Disclosed
Two mandatory fund contributions payable with the royalty: 1% of Gross Receipts to the Corporate Advertising and Development Fund and 4% to the National Media Fund, 5% in total today. Either may be raised on 90 days' notice, but the combined total is capped at 6% of Gross Receipts. The franchisor may reallocate money between the funds at its discretion, is not required to spend anything in the franchisee's own area, and has no franchisee advertising council. Affiliate-owned restaurants contribute on the same basis; some non-traditional venue operators contribute less or not at all. Citation audit 2026-09-04: page corrected 15 -> 16 (value verified on p. 16). Two mandatory fund contributions payable with the royalty: 1% of Gross Receipts to the Corporate Advertising and Development Fund and 4% to the National Media Fund, 5% in total today. Either may be raised on 90 days' notice, but the combined total is capped at 6% of Gross Receipts. The franchisor may reallocate money between the funds at its discretion, is not required to spend anything in the franchisee's own area, and has no franchisee advertising council. Affiliate-owned restaurants contribute on the same basis; some non-traditional venue operators contribute less or not at all. Citation audit 2026-09-04: page corrected 15 -> 16 (value verified on p. 16). |
| Required local marketing | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. Neither Item 6 nor Item 11 imposes a minimum local advertising spend on the franchisee. All required advertising spending flows through the two national funds and, if the franchisor forms one, a local or regional co-operative. Franchisees must submit all local advertising and promotional materials to the franchisor for prior written approval. |
| Technology / software | $395–$795/month Disclosed
Monthly Software Licence Fee and Support Package covering all currently provided software, licence fees, upgrades and help desk; currently $395 per month and may rise to $795 per month, and is subject to further change. This package also carries the mandatory customer loyalty, online ordering and food/labour management programs. Separate recurring technology charges apply on top: a $39.85 monthly secure network fee, a $9.50 monthly gift card program fee, roughly $30 a month for required back-up cellular service, and per-transaction online and third-party ordering fees. POS upgrades required during the term are capped at $50,000 in total. Monthly Software Licence Fee and Support Package covering all currently provided software, licence fees, upgrades and help desk; currently $395 per month and may rise to $795 per month, and is subject to further change. This package also carries the mandatory customer loyalty, online ordering and food/labour management programs. Separate recurring technology charges apply on top: a $39.85 monthly secure network fee, a $9.50 monthly gift card program fee, roughly $30 a month for required back-up cellular service, and per-transaction online and third-party ordering fees. POS upgrades required during the term are capped at $50,000 in total. |
| Advertising cooperative | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's); we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No co-operative contribution is currently required. The franchisor may at its discretion create a local or regional advertising co-operative in any advertising coverage area and require the franchisee to join immediately on request; such a co-op may require contributions of up to 2% of a member's Gross Receipts, which would be on top of the national fund contributions. A franchisee is not required to belong to more than one co-op unless it owns restaurants in different advertising coverage areas. |
| Transfer fee | $15,000 one-time Disclosed
$15,000 per franchised restaurant transferred, payable at closing and non-refundable. It does not apply to an assignment to a legal entity solely owned by the franchisee, though direct costs including legal fees may still be charged. The buyer and two other designees must complete the then-current training program. $15,000 per franchised restaurant transferred, payable at closing and non-refundable. It does not apply to an assignment to a legal entity solely owned by the franchisee, though direct costs including legal fees may still be charged. The buyer and two other designees must complete the then-current training program. |
| Renewal fee | $20,000 one-time Disclosed
Successor franchise fee payable before the Franchise Agreement expires as one condition of obtaining a successor franchise. Successor franchise fee payable before the Franchise Agreement expires as one condition of obtaining a successor franchise. |
| Royalty + ad fund (% of sales) | 11.5% Derived
|
Fee schedule (30 fees; 30 verified against the source, 0 single-pass)
Every recurring, conditional and one-time fee found in this FDD's Item 6 table (plus mandatory recurring costs disclosed in Items 7/11), each cited to its page and carrying its verification status: verified means two independent readings agreed or a tie-break re-inspection of the page decided it; single-pass means one reading captured it and it has not been independently confirmed (permitted only for fees that cannot move modeled economics — see the materiality rule). Amounts marked “not stated” are charged at then-current rates the FDD does not quantify and are never modeled as $0.
| Fee | Amount | Frequency | Mandatory | Verification | Cite | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuing Royalty Fees | 6.5% of gross sales | weekly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 15 | If sales records are not delivered on time, the franchisor calculates and drafts on 110% of the prior reported week's Gross Receipts. |
| Corporate Advertising and Development Fund | 1%–6% of gross sales | weekly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 15 | Some Non-Traditional Venue franchisees pay reduced amounts or none. FY2025 spend: 67.6% production, 31.7% administration, <1% meetings, <1% public relations (Item 11). |
| National Media Fund | 4%–6% of gross sales | weekly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 15 | Some Non-Traditional Venue franchisees pay reduced amounts or none. FY2025 spend: 87.2% media placement, 12.0% production, <1% public relations, <1% administration (Item 11). |
| Grand Re-Opening Advertising | $5,000 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 15 | Due only on a franchisor-approved relocation of an existing restaurant; distinct from the initial $10,000 Grand Opening Advertising fee due at first signing (captured in the initial fee fields, not here). |
| Audit | Not stated | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 16 | Only if an audit shows Gross Receipts understated by 2% or more for a payment period; routine inspections are at the franchisor's expense. Franchisor may pull sales records directly from third-party ordering/delivery/catering vendors without franchisee consent. |
| Management Fee | 5% of gross sales | weekly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 16 | Only if Company operates the Restaurant on an interim basis: abandonment or failure to operate for more than 5 consecutive days, an uncured default, death or disability of the franchisee/Controlling Principal, or post-termination transition. Verified on page 16 of the Item 6 table and note 5. Both passes carry this entry identically; the conflict is an ordering artifact of the A/B fee pairing, not a disagreement. |
| Interest | 1.5% of other | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 16 | Accrues after the due date on any amount payable to Company and/or its affiliates. Interest and Late Fees are two separate rows of the Item 6 table on page 16 (both keyed to note 6); they are not duplicates of each other. |
| Late Fees | $25 (min $25) | per event | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 16 | Applies 5 days after the due date to any amount payable to Company and/or its affiliates. Distinct row from Interest on the same page; the FDD charges both on a past-due amount. |
| Approval of Alternative Supplier or Product | Not stated | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 16 | Only when the franchisee wants to use an unapproved supplier or product. |
| General Contractor and Architect Approval | $5,000 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 16 | Only if using an unapproved general contractor or architect; may be waived at the franchisor's sole discretion. |
| Monthly Software License Fee and Support Package for Point of Sales System | $395–$795 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 16 | Related one-time POS costs (Items 5/7): $4,500 network connection, $2,000-$4,000 license, $750 credit card software fee, plus $7,500-$15,000 hardware. |
| Secure Network Fee for Processing of Credit Cards and Transferring of Sales Data | $40 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 17 | |
| Gift Card Program | $10 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 17 | |
| Teamworx Software Fee | $60 | monthly | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 17 | Only if the franchisee elects to use Teamworx (labor management, Crunchtime platform). |
| Third-Party Delivery Fee | $6–$41 | per event | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 17 | Charged only when customers order for delivery through Company's website; auto-debited by Company and remitted to its third-party delivery vendor. Fee subject to change with the vendor's costs. Table shows the payment timing as "As incurred", which supports per_event rather than monthly. |
| Online Ordering Fees | $4 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 17 | Applies to online-ordering transactions. |
| Third-Party Order Fees | $0 | monthly | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 17 | Applies to orders received through integrated third-party ordering channels; due the 1st day of every month by wire transfer; subject to change with the third-party provider's costs. Confirmed as its own row on page 17, immediately below Online Ordering Fees. |
| Text Message Fees | $0 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 18 | Only if the franchisee elects to send text messages to its own customer lists. |
| Transfer Fee | $15,000 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 18 | Per restaurant transferred, at closing; not charged on an assignment to an entity wholly owned by the franchisee, though reimbursable direct costs may still apply. |
| Successor Franchise Fee | $20,000 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 18 | Condition of obtaining a successor franchise term prior to expiration. |
| Replacement Training | $2,500 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 18 | Only when a replacement Trained Employee must be trained (even pre-opening); no fee for the original Phase 1/2/3 training. |
| Additional Assistance | $75 | per event | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 18 | Company provides 3 days of on-site assistance during the first month of operation at its own cost; any further on-site assistance, at opening or later in the term, is billed to the franchisee. Row and note 11 both confirmed on page 18. |
| Continuing Education | Not stated | annual | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 18 | Only when Company elects to hold refresher training programs or seminars, at its headquarters, another designated location, or virtually. Row and note 12 confirmed on page 18; note 12 adds "excluding travel time". |
| Maintenance | Not stated | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 18 | Only if the franchisee fails to maintain the Premises to System Standards and does not cure within 30 days of notice. |
| Insurance | Not stated | annual | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 18 | Required coverages specified in Item 8/Manual: general/public/personal-injury/auto/property/product liability, workers' comp, employment practices, umbrella, business interruption. |
| Cost of Enforcement or Defense | Not stated | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 19 | Payable on settlement/conclusion of a claim where the franchisor prevails. |
| Relocation Fee | $5,000 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 19 | Only on a franchisor-permitted relocation; the franchisee has no right to relocate. |
| Indemnification | Not stated | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 19 | On settlement/conclusion of a claim involving damages from operation of the franchisee's business. |
| Liquidated Damages | Not stated | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 19 | Payable within 5 days of a for-cause termination of the Franchise Agreement, in addition to other damages/costs/expenses. Converts an early for-cause exit into a payment comparable to roughly a third of a year's revenue. |
| Local or Regional Advertising Cooperative (Co-Op) Contribution | Not stated | varies | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 11, p. 34 | Only if the franchisor forms a Co-Op for the advertising coverage area; franchisee must join immediately on request. Limited to one Co-Op unless operating in multiple coverage areas. Calculator audit 2026-09-03: mandatory was null; the Co-Op contribution is entirely contingent on the franchisor first electing to form a Co-Op in the area (Item 11 p.34/PDF p.34) - no Co-Op currently exists, so this should read false like Firehouse Subs' equivalent Special Co-Op Contribution, not an ambiguous null. (p. 34; "In its discretion, create a local or regional advertising cooperative... The Co-") |
Item 6 states that all fees are imposed by and payable to the franchisor, are non-refundable unless otherwise noted, and may not be uniform for all franchisees. Royalties and fund contributions are drafted weekly by ACH. Conduct-driven charges include audit costs plus interest where an audit shows Gross Receipts understated by 2% or more, the cost of maintenance the franchisor performs after the franchisee fails to cure within 30 days, insurance premiums the franchisor advances, indemnification costs, and enforcement or defence costs including in-house counsel billed at $300 per hour. Continuing education may be required up to twice a year for up to four days in total, at the franchisee's travel and payroll expense but with no program fee.
Financial performance (Item 19)
What the franchisor actually disclosedWho is represented: The single table covers 2,606 'Traditional Franchised Restaurants' — restaurants operated by third-party franchisees for more than 360 days during the measurement period of January 1 to December 28, 2025, excluding restaurants in non-traditional venues. Of the 3,227 restaurants open in the United States on December 28, 2025, 621 were excluded: 583 that operated fewer than 361 days in the period, 8 that did not use the franchisor's designated POS system, 13 non-traditional restaurants that were open more than 360 days, and 17 owned or managed by the franchisor, its affiliates or persons named in Item 2. The 2,606 restaurants represent about 81% of the 3,201 franchised outlets reported at the same date in Item 20.
Qualifications: This is a sales-only representation. No cost, expense, margin, EBITDA, net income or owner-earnings figure appears anywhere in Item 19, so the numbers say nothing about what an operator keeps after food cost, labour, rent, the 6.5% royalty and the 5% fund contributions. The population is restricted: 621 of the 3,227 U.S. restaurants open at the period end were excluded, including all 583 restaurants open fewer than 361 days, so newly opened restaurants — the situation of a new franchisee — are not represented at all. Restaurants owned or managed by the franchisor's affiliates and non-traditional venue restaurants are also excluded. The measurement period is a 362-day fiscal year rather than a calendar year. The data are drawn from the designated POS system and the FDD does not state that they are audited. Only 44% of restaurants met or exceeded the average, and the range runs from $512,332 to $3,228,616. Only one year is shown, so no trend can be read from the item. The franchisor makes written substantiation available on reasonable request.
View full Item 19 disclosure and tables
Item 19 is a single-table historical sales representation covering the 2,606 traditional franchised restaurants that third-party franchisees operated for more than 360 days during the fiscal year ended December 28, 2025. Average Unit Volume was $1,367,578 and the median $1,305,850, with a low of $512,332 and a high of $3,228,616. The franchisor discloses that 1,148 restaurants — 44% — met or exceeded the average, so more than half of the population sat below it. Unit Volume is defined as all food, beverage, merchandise and service sales including off-site and catering sales, less sales taxes, refunds, discounts, coupons and donations. What the item does not show matters as much as what it does: there is no cost, margin or profit data of any kind, no breakdown by restaurant age, market or format, and no prior-year comparison. The 583 restaurants that had been open for less than 361 days are excluded, which removes exactly the cohort a new franchisee would most want to see. Restaurants operated by the franchisor's affiliates, restaurants not on the designated POS system, and non-traditional venue locations are excluded as well. The 2,606 restaurants shown are about 81% of the 3,201 franchised outlets Item 20 reports at the same date.
| Metric | Subset | Value | Units | Period | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit Volume — traditional franchised restaurants open more than 360 days 44% of units met or exceeded 1,148 of the 2,606 restaurants (44%) met or exceeded the average. | Traditional Franchised Restaurants Average | $1,367,578 | 2,606 | Jan 1 – Dec 28, 2025 | FDD p.57 |
| Unit Volume — traditional franchised restaurants open more than 360 days | Traditional Franchised Restaurants Median | $1,305,850 | 2,606 | Jan 1 – Dec 28, 2025 | FDD p.57 |
| Unit Volume — highest single traditional franchised restaurant | Traditional Franchised Restaurants High | $3,228,616 | 2,606 | Jan 1 – Dec 28, 2025 | FDD p.57 |
| Unit Volume — lowest single traditional franchised restaurant | Traditional Franchised Restaurants Low | $512,332 | 2,606 | Jan 1 – Dec 28, 2025 | FDD p.57 |
System health (Item 20)
Outlets, openings, exits and transfers by fiscal year · U.S. onlyView detailed Item 20 tables and source notes
| Fiscal year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Not renewed | Reacquired | Ceased — other | End | Transfers | Company-owned (end) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,361 | 296 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2,647 | 96 | 28 |
| 2024 | 2,647 | 319 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 2,955 | 77 | 34 |
| 2025 | 2,955 | 259 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3,201 | 218 | 26 |
Disclosed 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's), Item 20, Tables 1–3 (PDF p. 58). All four status tables foot to their printed totals and Table No. 1 reconciles with Tables No. 3 and No. 4 in every year. Counts are U.S. state-by-state and fiscal years end December 31, 2023, December 31, 2024 and December 28, 2025. Franchised outlets grew a net 840 over three years, from 2,361 to 3,201, on 874 openings with zero terminations and zero non-renewals recorded, 6 outlets reacquired by the franchisor and 28 that ceased operations for other reasons. The 2025 opening figure of 259 includes 8 formerly affiliate-owned restaurants that were reclassified as franchised outlets on January 15, 2025 following the Blackstone acquisition, so genuine new franchised openings in 2025 were 251. Affiliate-owned outlets fell from 34 to 26 in 2025, mainly through 12 sales to franchisees. Transfers between franchisees jumped from 77 in 2024 to 218 in 2025, concentrated in California (32), Texas (26), Florida (24), Arizona (18) and Washington (15). Item 20 states the franchisor has signed no confidentiality agreements restricting franchisees from speaking openly in the last three fiscal years, but that its affiliate JMFS has done so.
Source data notes (10) — inconsistencies found in the FDD itself during verification
Our verification re-reads every table. Where the FDD's own printed tables disagree, we document the discrepancy rather than silently "fixing" it. Classes: B = arithmetic error in the source's derived column; C = the printed tables genuinely disagree; D = a legitimate definitional difference (e.g., transfers netted, explained by a footnote); E = unresolved ambiguity. Figures a material C/E issue puts in doubt are excluded from our derived metrics, scores and rankings.
- [C/minor] Table 5 2026: The 49 state rows of the "Projected New Franchised Outlets in the Next Fiscal Year (Projected to Open in 2026)" column sum to 261, but the printed Totals row reads 260. Re-verified against the page image on page 67: the Totals row prints "563 260 1" while the state rows foot to 563 / 261 / 1, so the other two columns foot exactly and only this column is one unit short. — Source-document inconsistency confirmed on the rendered page, not an extraction or arithmetic error by either pass. Table 5 is a forward-looking projection, is not used to derive any historical metric, and a one-unit gap is 0.03% of the 3,201 franchised outlets at the start of FY2026 - well inside the 0.5% threshold. Use the printed Totals figure of 260 and flag the discrepancy rather than substituting 261.
- [E/minor] Table 5 2026: North Dakota shows 2 franchise agreements signed but outlet not opened, yet 10 projected new franchised openings for 2026 (page 67, confirmed on the page image). Every other state projects openings at or below its own signed-but-not-open count. If the intended figure were 1 or 0, the column would foot to the printed 260. — The figure is printed as 10 and is not explained by any footnote, so it cannot be corrected from the document; it is plausible but unverifiable that it is a typo for 1 or 0 and the source of the one-unit overshoot. Leave the state row as printed, rely on the printed Totals row, and do not use Table 5 state rows for state-level projections.
- [D/minor] Table 1 vs Item 19 2025: Table 1 reports 3,227 total outlets at FY2025 end (page 58); Item 19 states that as of the same date, December 28, 2025, "there were 3,235 JERSEY MIKE'S Restaurants open and operating" and that "8 JERSEY MIKE'S Restaurants operate pursuant to license agreements ... leaving 3,227 Restaurants" (page 57). — Not a discrepancy: Item 19 itself reconciles the two figures, and Item 20 counts only franchised and affiliate-owned outlets, excluding the 8 licensed restaurants (separately listed in Exhibit F-2). Table 1 footnote 4 confirms the 3,227 does include 37 Non-Traditional Venue restaurants. Use 3,227 for unit counts and note the 3,235 open-and-operating figure separately.
- [D/minor] Table 3 / Table 4 2025: 8 outlets that ceased to be affiliate-owned on January 15, 2025 following the Blackstone acquisition are recorded in Table 3 as franchised outlets that "opened" in 2025 (1 Florida, 2 Indiana, 1 Maryland, 1 Oregon, 2 Pennsylvania, 1 Texas) and in Table 4 as outlets sold to franchisees, with no new restaurant built. Printed FY2025 new franchised openings are 259 versus 251 organic opens; the affiliate-owned count falls from 34 to 26. — Explained on the face of the document by identical footnotes to Table 1 (note 3, page 58), Table 3 (note 2, page 64) and Table 4 (note 3, page 66): "8 Company-Owned outlets are no longer considered Restaurants owned by Company's affiliates as of January 15, 2025, and are designated as franchised outlets that opened in 2025." The totals are corroborated - Table 3 and Table 4 year-end totals reconcile exactly to Table 1 - and 8 units is 0.27% of the 2,955 franchised outlets at the start of FY2025. Report the printed 259 openings and disclose that 8 were reclassifications, not new construction.
- [D/minor] Table 3: Every state row in every year (2023-2025) shows 0 terminations and 0 non-renewals; all franchised-outlet attrition (10 in 2023, 5 in 2024, 13 in 2025) is booked under "Ceased Operations-Other Reasons". — A reporting-classification convention rather than an error: the total attrition figures are corroborated by the Table 3 Totals rows, which reconcile with Table 1 for all three years (2361+296-10=2647; 2647+319-6-5=2955; 2955+259-13=3201). Only the reason split is affected, so aggregate closure and attrition figures are usable, but termination-versus-other-reason comparisons against other brands are not.
- [D/minor] Table 2 2025: Transfers foot in all three years (96 in 2023, 77 in 2024, 218 in 2025; Totals rows begin on page 60) and roughly tripled in FY2025, concentrated in states that jumped from zero or near zero to double digits in one year (Arizona 0 to 18, Colorado 0 to 13, Virginia 0 to 13, Washington 3 to 15, California 20 to 32). 218 transfers against 3,201 franchised outlets is a 6.8% single-year turnover rate. — No inconsistency: the table foots and the figures are as printed. The concentration pattern is consistent with portfolio-level ownership changes around the January 2025 Blackstone acquisition rather than dispersed individual franchisee exits, so the FY2025 transfer rate should be presented with that caveat and not read as a distress signal.
- [D/minor] Table 1 / Table 3 / Table 4: Footing and carry-forward checks elsewhere are clean. Table 3 state rows foot to the Totals rows in all three years and the Totals rows carry forward correctly (2361+296-10=2647; 2647+319-6-5=2955; 2955+259-13=3201); Table 4 foots the same way (26+3-1=28; 28+6+6-1-5=34; 34+5-1-12=26); and the Table 3 and Table 4 year-end totals reconcile exactly to the franchised and Company-Owned rows of Table 1 for all three years. — No issue. Both passes independently verified the same arithmetic and agree; this corroborates the TOTAL-row figures the site uses and is the reason the Table 5 and Blackstone items above are graded minor rather than material.
- [D/minor] Table 1 / Table 4: Table 1 footnote 2 (page 58) and Table 4 footnote 2 (page 66) both state that "Company does not own any Restaurants" and that Company-Owned outlets are restaurants owned by Company's affiliates. — Definitional, disclosed in footnotes. The "Company-Owned" column does not mean franchisor-operated; label it affiliate-owned wherever the site presents the company-owned unit count or the -8 FY2025 change.
- [D/minor] all: Fiscal years are not of equal length: Table 1 footnote 1 (and the identical footnote to Tables 2-5) gives the measurement dates as December 31, 2023, December 31, 2024 and December 28, 2025, making FY2025 a 362-day year. The same December 28, 2025 cut-off governs the Item 19 Measurement Period. — Disclosed in the tables' own footnote; unit counts are point-in-time and unaffected, but FY2025 openings, closures and the Item 19 unit volumes cover three fewer days than the prior years. Note it where year-over-year rates or average unit volumes are shown.
- [D/minor] all: No U.S./international split is presented anywhere in Item 20; all five tables are single, undivided system-wide U.S. tables. — No issue. Consistent with Item 1, which describes no international Jersey Mike's operations for this franchisor, so the printed Totals rows are already U.S. totals and need no adjustment.
Company-owned outlets (Table 4)
| Year | Start | Opened | Reacquired from franchisee | Closed | Sold to franchisee | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| 2024 | 28 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 34 |
| 2025 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 26 |
Read: How to read Item 20.
Ownership and operations
Items 11, 12, 15, 17Owner-operator required Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's)
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-04-10, amended 2026-08-26
- Item
- Item 15
- Page
- PDF p. 47
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 640926
under the direct, on-premises supervision of you or your Controlling Principal (if you are an entity)
Item 15 requires the restaurant to be under the direct, on-premises supervision of the franchisee or, for an entity franchisee, its Controlling Principal. The alternative of a trained, franchisor-approved full-time manager or shift supervisor is expressly conditioned on the franchisee operating more than one restaurant, so a single-unit owner is on the hook personally. A Controlling Principal must be approved by the franchisor, must own at least 10% of the franchisee entity and must complete all required training. A following paragraph adds that the franchisee, the Controlling Principal or a designated and approved manager must devote full-time energy and best efforts to the restaurant, which reads more permissively than the first paragraph; the two are not reconciled in the item.
View operating requirements, territory and contract term
| Owner involvement (Item 15) | Owner-operator required Disclosed
Item 15 requires the restaurant to be under the direct, on-premises supervision of the franchisee or, for an entity franchisee, its Controlling Principal. The alternative of a trained, franchisor-approved full-time manager or shift supervisor is expressly conditioned on the franchisee operating more than one restaurant, so a single-unit owner is on the hook personally. A Controlling Principal must be approved by the franchisor, must own at least 10% of the franchisee entity and must complete all required training. A following paragraph adds that the franchisee, the Controlling Principal or a designated and approved manager must devote full-time energy and best efforts to the restaurant, which reads more permissively than the first paragraph; the two are not reconciled in the item. Item 15 requires the restaurant to be under the direct, on-premises supervision of the franchisee or, for an entity franchisee, its Controlling Principal. The alternative of a trained, franchisor-approved full-time manager or shift supervisor is expressly conditioned on the franchisee operating more than one restaurant, so a single-unit owner is on the hook personally. A Controlling Principal must be approved by the franchisor, must own at least 10% of the franchisee entity and must complete all required training. A following paragraph adds that the franchisee, the Controlling Principal or a designated and approved manager must devote full-time energy and best efforts to the restaurant, which reads more permissively than the first paragraph; the two are not reconciled in the item. |
|---|---|
| Initial training | Initial training runs in three phases and is completed before opening. Phases 1 and 3 are on-the-job training in a Jersey Mike's restaurant the franchisor designates, 180 hours each and together a minimum of eight consecutive weeks, typically finishing two to four weeks before opening. Phase 2 is four days at the franchisor's training centre in Manasquan, New Jersey, totalling 22.25 classroom hours and 5.75 on-the-job hours. For a first restaurant three people must complete Phase 1, the franchisee or Controlling Principal or designated manager must complete Phase 2, and two people must complete Phase 3; those two must also work the grand opening of another franchisee's restaurant. The franchisor charges no fee for initial training but the franchisee pays all travel, room, board and wages. A franchisor representative attends the restaurant for at least three eight-hour days during the first month. Refresher programs may be required up to twice a year for no more than four days in total. Disclosed
Phase totals are taken from the Item 11 training schedules on PDF pages 37, 39 and 40. The franchisor may lengthen a phase if a trainee does not pass and may reduce or increase requirements based on experience; failure to complete training to its satisfaction is a non-curable default. |
| Multi-unit / development options | Multi-unit development is the default structure rather than an add-on: every franchisee must sign an Area Development Agreement before signing any Franchise Agreement, whatever the number of restaurants. The development fee is $10,000 for each restaurant committed under the agreement, payable in full at signing, non-refundable, and not credited against the $20,000 initial franchise fee due for each restaurant. The Area Development Agreement sets a binding Development Schedule and grants a Designated Territory for site searching; missing the schedule is a non-curable default that lets the franchisor terminate the agreement, cut the number of restaurants allowed or remove the territory, though existing restaurants continue under their own Franchise Agreements. The agreement has no renewal or extension provision and no right of transfer. Existing franchisees expanding may be approved 'for growth' as a transfer condition, and in fiscal 2025 the franchisor charged some existing franchisees a reduced initial franchise fee of $8,500 for additional restaurants. Disclosed
Drawn from Item 1 (page 10), Item 5 (page 14), Item 7 (page 22) and Item 17 (pages 53–54). |
| Territory (Item 12) | Item 12 states plainly that the franchisee does not receive an exclusive territory, under either agreement. Under the Franchise Agreement the restaurant has a Designated Area, typically only a 0.5 to 1 mile radius from the restaurant's front door and smaller in dense urban areas or where a natural boundary applies. Inside that area the franchisor and its affiliates will not open or authorise another Jersey Mike's restaurant while the agreement is in force and the franchisee is not in default, but they reserve the right to operate other brands and competing concepts there, to sell through any non-restaurant channel including online and third-party retail, and to place Jersey Mike's restaurants at non-traditional venues such as airports, stadiums and campuses. The Area Development Agreement's Designated Territory works the same way for the term of that agreement. The franchisee may not market outside its Designated Area without approval but may accept unsolicited outside orders, and receives no compensation if the franchisor sells inside the area. Territorial rights do not depend on hitting any sales or market-penetration target. There is no right to relocate; the franchisor may permit it and may charge $5,000 plus a $5,000 grand re-opening advertising fee. Disclosed
Item 12 also flags the affiliated Tropical Smoothie Cafe system, which sells a limited line of sandwiches, may solicit customers near the franchisee's restaurant, and for which the franchisor accepts no obligation to resolve conflicts. |
| Initial term | 10 years Disclosed
The term begins when the Franchise Agreement is signed and expires 10 years from the restaurant's opening date, so the effective term is slightly longer than 10 years from signing. |
| Renewal | One successor term of 10 years is available. Conditions are substantial compliance with the Franchise Agreement throughout the term, bringing the restaurant into full compliance with current System Standards and any other requirement the franchisor sets, giving notice between 6 and 12 months before expiry, proving continued possession of the premises through the successor term, paying a $20,000 successor franchise fee, meeting the then-current qualification and training requirements for new franchisees, signing the then-current form of franchise agreement and related documents whose terms may materially differ from the existing ones, and signing a general release in the form the franchisor prescribes. The franchisor must also still be offering franchises in the area at the time notice is given. Disclosed
|
| Staffing | The franchisee must at all times employ three Trained Employees: at least one person who has completed Phases 1, 2 and 3, at least one who has completed Phases 1 and 3, and at least one who has completed Phase 1. If any of them leaves the qualifying role, a replacement must complete the same phases within 120 days, at a training charge of up to $2,500 per trainee. All employees must complete the training programs the manual designates, at the franchisee's expense, and the franchisee must meet board-of-health food safety certification requirements such as ServSafe. The typical restaurant occupies roughly 1,000 to 2,000 square feet with one or two POS registers. The reviewed items do not state a typical headcount or required hours of operation, and the restaurant may not be closed without the franchisor's prior written approval. Disclosed
Headcount and operating hours are not disclosed in the reviewed items. |
Risk and legal observations
Items 3, 4, 8, 15, 17 — summarized neutrallyLitigation: 3 matter(s) disclosed Disclosed · Bankruptcy: None disclosed Disclosed
View legal disclosures, restrictions and guarantees
| Litigation (Item 3) | 3 matter(s) disclosed Disclosed Item 3 lists three matters, none of them brought by or against a franchisee over the franchise relationship. Two are concluded. In October 2018 the Washington Attorney General sued the former franchisor JMFS together with every Jersey Mike's franchisee operating in Washington, alleging that a legacy 'no-poach' clause barring franchisees from hiring one another's staff violated the state Consumer Protection Act; JMFS had already announced it would not enforce the clause and had removed it from its form agreement, and the matter ended in an August 2019 Assurance of Discontinuance under which JMFS agreed not to include or enforce the clause and paid the state $150,000 without admitting liability. In a September 2025 California class action, a customer alleged that refusing cash redemption of a small gift-card balance at a franchised restaurant breached California gift-card, false-advertising and unfair-competition laws; the class was not certified and the franchisor settled with the named plaintiff individually for $25,000 in March 2026 without admitting fault. One matter is pending: a February 2026 putative class action in the Central District of California alleging that JMFS misrepresented service fees charged through the Jersey Mike's mobile app under California consumer statutes and common-law fraud. The plaintiff has given notice that he intends to add the franchisor itself. The court granted JMFS's motion to compel individual arbitration on August 6, 2026 and stayed proceedings. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy (Item 4) | None disclosed Disclosed Item 4 states that no bankruptcies are required to be disclosed. |
| Personal guaranty | Required Disclosed
The state-required special risks page discloses spousal liability: the franchisee's spouse must sign a document making the spouse liable for all financial obligations under the franchise agreement even with no ownership interest, putting marital and personal assets at risk. Item 9 lists a Guaranty as Exhibit C-2 to the Franchise Agreement and Exhibit B-1 to the Area Development Agreement. Item 17 requires a transferee and its principals to sign a personal guaranty as a condition of any approved transfer, and under the Coach Rod Smith financing program the principals of the franchisee entity and each principal's spouse must personally guarantee the note. |
| Non-compete | During the term the franchisee, its owners and their immediate family members may not own, manage or hold any interest in a Competitive Business located or operating anywhere — there is no geographic limit — and may not divert business, disparage the brand or harm the goodwill of the marks. A Competitive Business is any restaurant or food service facility deriving 25% or more of its revenue from sandwiches of any kind on any kind of bread, or any business franchising or licensing such operations; hot dogs, hamburgers and fried chicken sandwiches are carved out. The restriction extends to a business the franchisee already operated before signing. After termination or expiry the covenant runs for 2 years and covers three overlapping areas: the Metropolitan Statistical Area containing the restaurant, a 10-mile radius of the premises, and a 10-mile radius of any other Jersey Mike's restaurant. Holdings below 5% in a public company are exempt, and the covenants are stated to be subject to applicable state law. Equivalent covenants apply under the Area Development Agreement. Disclosed
Because the post-term radius is measured from any Jersey Mike's restaurant in the system and is combined with a whole Metropolitan Statistical Area, the restricted zone can be very large in a developed market. |
| Transfer restrictions | Any transfer, mortgage, pledge or encumbrance of rights under the Franchise Agreement, of an ownership interest in the franchisee entity, or of the restaurant and its assets requires the franchisor's prior written approval, and even the advertisement offering the business for sale must be approved in writing first. Conditions include that the restaurant is open and trading, that the deal terms meet the franchisor's then-current requirements on price, closing date and payment terms, full compliance with all agreements, payment of everything owed to the franchisor, its affiliates and third-party suppliers, curing all deficiencies including refurbishment to current standards, general releases from the franchisee and the transferee, the transferee qualifying as a new franchisee and completing initial training, the transferee and its principals signing the then-current form of franchise agreement and a personal guaranty for the remainder of the term, and a $15,000 transfer fee. The franchisor holds a right of first refusal exercisable within 15 business days of receiving a signed third-party purchase agreement, on the same terms or for cash, and may assign that right to an affiliate. On death or disability a personal representative has 180 days to transfer to an approved party; a spouse or immediate family member pays no transfer fee but reimburses direct costs. Development rights under the Area Development Agreement may not be transferred at all. Disclosed
A transferee receives only the remainder of the transferor's term, not a fresh 10 years. |
| Termination / non-renewal | The franchisee may terminate only if it is in substantial compliance and the franchisor materially breaches and fails to cure after written notice, with termination effective 30 days later. The franchisor cannot terminate without cause, but the list of causes is long and the cure periods are short: 72 hours for violating a law or regulation, 7 days for materially misusing a mark, 10 days for failing to pay the franchisor or its affiliates or to maintain insurance, 15 days for failing a quality assurance test or inspection, and 30 days for any other breach. Non-curable defaults include missing the development or opening deadline, failing to complete initial training, misrepresentation in the franchise application, an unauthorised transfer, a felony conviction, misuse of confidential information, losing the premises, abandoning or failing to operate the restaurant for 2 or more days in any 12-month period, understating royalties by more than 3% on three or more occasions, two failures in 12 months to report or pay, insolvency, creating a health or safety hazard, unpaid taxes, and two instances of abusive conduct. On termination or expiry the franchisee must cease operating and using the marks, de-identify the premises, assign the lease, phone numbers and online presences on request, return confidential materials, sell inventory, equipment or the whole business to the franchisor at its option, comply with the non-compete, and pay all sums owed including liquidated damages. Disclosed
Liquidated damages equal the average monthly royalty and fund contributions over the prior 12 months multiplied by the lesser of 36 months or the months left in the term, due within 5 days of termination and in addition to other damages. |
| Supplier restrictions (Item 8) | The cover page carries a state-required 'Supplier Control' risk warning that the franchisee must buy all or nearly all inventory and supplies from the franchisor, its affiliates or designated suppliers at prices they set. Every restaurant must carry Pepsi beverages and the Frito Lay snack line, and all private and proprietary items — the franchisor's private-label meats and cheeses, bread, paper products and logo uniforms — must come from required vendors distributed through Sysco and other franchisor-selected distributors. Real estate brokers and general contractors must be franchisor-approved, equipment and furniture must come from designated suppliers, and POS hardware and software must be bought from ReSource Point of Sale at about $7,500 per register. Participation is mandatory in the loyalty, online ordering, food and labour management, and gift card programs, and in the franchisor's designated credit card processing. Item 8 states that approved-supplier purchases represent about 35% of the cost of establishing the restaurant and about 85% of total purchases and leases on an ongoing basis. In fiscal 2025 the franchisor received $16,163,731 from franchisees in software and network fees, which it says was 5.2% of its total revenue of $309,842,674, plus $19,384,741 in supplier commissions and support fees. Affiliate FoodCo received $139,563,434 from suppliers based on franchisee purchases, affiliate Jersey Shore Construction received $1,589,227 for graphics packages, and JMFS received $49,350 for bookkeeping. No purchasing or distribution co-operatives exist. Disclosed
Supplier rebates flow to the franchisor and its affiliates, which may retain 100% of them; examples given include $0.50 to $7.24 per case, $0.12 to $0.30 per pound, $5.00 to $14.35 per gallon and 10% to 26.25% of the purchase price of certain products. An officer of the franchisor has an ownership interest in LC Construction of Atlanta, Inc., an approved contractor. |
| Dispute resolution | All disputes under both the Franchise Agreement and the Area Development Agreement go first to mediation and then, if unresolved, to binding arbitration, in both cases held in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Any arbitration or permitted court action is brought in state or federal court in New Jersey, and New Jersey law applies, except that trademark disputes fall under the Lanham Act and the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act applies only where its own jurisdictional scope is independently met. The cover page carries a state-required warning that out-of-state arbitration may force a franchisee to accept a less favourable settlement and may cost more than arbitrating at home. The Michigan addendum notes that state law voids out-of-state arbitration clauses, but the franchisor states it believes that provision is unconstitutional and intends to enforce arbitration as written. Disclosed
The prevailing party may recover enforcement and defence costs, with the franchisor's in-house counsel billed at $300 per hour. |
- Ownership has changed twice recently: Blackstone-managed funds acquired a majority position in the system on January 16, 2025, and Jersey Mike's Subs Inc. completed an initial public offering on July 31, 2026 and became managing member of the group holding company.
- The two advertising fund contributions total 5% of Gross Receipts today but can be raised to 6% in aggregate on 90 days' notice, and a franchisor-created advertising co-operative could add up to a further 2%.
- Royalties and fund contributions are drafted weekly by ACH, and the franchisor may change the frequency at any time, including to daily.
- The franchisor is not required to spend any fund money in the franchisee's own area and has no franchisee advertising council; the National Advisory Council is informal and advisory only.
- The in-term non-compete has no geographic limit and covers any food business deriving 25% or more of its revenue from sandwiches, including a business the franchisee owned before signing.
- Abandoning or failing to operate the restaurant for two or more days in any twelve-month period is a non-curable default, and several other cure periods are as short as 72 hours.
- Item 20 Table No. 3 records zero terminations and zero non-renewals in all three years, with 28 outlets recorded only as having ceased operations for other reasons.
- The 2025 franchised opening count of 259 includes 8 affiliate-owned restaurants reclassified as franchised following the Blackstone acquisition, so it overstates genuine new openings by 8.
- Table No. 5's projected-openings column sums to 261 across the state rows while the printed total reads 260.
- The franchisor's affiliate JMFS has signed confidentiality agreements with franchisees that may restrict them from speaking openly about their experience, although the franchisor itself has not in the last three fiscal years.
- The franchisor may set maximum or minimum prices for products and services where the law allows.
- No minimum liquid capital or net worth requirement is disclosed anywhere in the reviewed document.
Summaries are neutral paraphrases of the cited document and are not legal advice. Read the full Items in the current FDD and consult a franchise attorney.
Illustrative unit economics
Model estimateModel estimate — not disclosed by the franchisor, not a forecast. Fee lines below come from this brand's verified FDD fee schedule and are computed exactly as disclosed (each line shows its arithmetic). Operating-cost ratios are category placeholders we chose — every one is editable and labeled assumption. Results are illustrative arithmetic, not expected returns. Every figure here belongs to one of five labeled categories — disclosed inputs, model assumptions, unmodeled mandatory fees, user-editable assumptions, and exclusions — defined in our methodology.
| Line (annual) | Downside | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (AUV basis) | $1,094,062 | $1,367,578 | $1,572,715 |
| − Cost of goods / supplies assumption | $339,159 | $423,949 | $487,542 |
| − Payroll (excl. owner) assumption | $306,337 | $382,922 | $440,360 |
| − Occupancy assumption | $87,525 | $109,406 | $125,817 |
| − Other operating expenses assumption | $120,347 | $150,434 | $172,999 |
| − Continuing Royalty Fees disclosed 6.5% of gross sales = $88,893 |
$71,114 | $88,893 | $102,226 |
| − Corporate Advertising and Development Fund disclosed 1% of gross sales = $13,676 |
$10,941 | $13,676 | $15,727 |
| − National Media Fund disclosed 4% of gross sales = $54,703 |
$43,762 | $54,703 | $62,909 |
| − Monthly Software License Fee and Support Package for Point of Sales System disclosed $395/month × 12 = $4,740 |
$4,740 | $4,740 | $4,740 |
| − Secure Network Fee for Processing of Credit Cards and Transferring of Sales Data disclosed $40/month × 12 = $478 |
$478 | $478 | $478 |
| − Gift Card Program disclosed $10/month × 12 = $114 |
$114 | $114 | $114 |
| = Modeled operating result before the items below (EBITDA-style) | $109,544 | $138,263 | $159,803 |
| − Manager compensation assumption | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| = Modeled result after manager compensation | $49,544 | $78,263 | $99,803 |
| − Illustrative debt service assumption | $90,586 | $90,586 | $90,586 |
| = Illustrative pre-tax cash flow — before taxes, capital expenditures and unmodeled fees | −$41,042 | −$12,322 | $9,217 |
| Modeled operating margin | 10% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
This modeled result is not owner income. It excludes: income taxes; capital expenditures and equipment-replacement reserves; working-capital needs; ramp-up losses; owner-specific costs; one-time and per-event fees (transfer, renewal, audit); and 5 mandatory fee(s) whose amounts the FDD does not state (listed below — real outflows are higher by these amounts). It is illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions, not a promise or forecast of what a franchisee earns.
Mandatory fees disclosed but not quantified — not included in the modeled result: the FDD requires these but states no amount (e.g. billed at "then-current" rates). They are never modeled as $0. If you have a quote or estimate, enter an annual amount to include it as your own assumption:
- Third-Party Delivery Fee (Item 6, p. 17) — Needs a delivery order mix and small/large split assumption; value 6 and range_high 41 bracket the full disclosed span. Separate from Online Ordering Fees and Third-Party Order Fees.
- Online Ordering Fees (Item 6, p. 17) — Requires a digital sales-mix assumption. Covers credit card, patent licensing, e-commerce, sales-tax software and authentication fees.
- Third-Party Order Fees (Item 6, p. 17) — Requires a third-party order-volume assumption. Distinct from the Online Ordering Fees row, which is $0.2921 per transaction plus 3.74% of each such sale on Company's own channel.
- Continuing Education (Item 6, p. 18) — Travel, lodging and wage cost only; no dollar amount is disclosed. Bounded by no more than 2 events and 4 days per calendar year.
- Insurance (Item 6, p. 18) — No recurring premium disclosed; Item 7's $4,125-$21,670 initial insurance line is the only quantitative anchor.
Every figure in this table is a model estimate built on the disclosed fee schedule plus labeled assumptions. Excluded: income taxes, owner draw, working-capital swings, capital expenditures, ramp-up losses in year one, one-time and per-event fees (transfer, renewal, audit), and the undisclosed-amount fees listed above. Read AUV vs. EBITDA vs. owner income before using this.
Sources and provenance
Primary source: 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's) · issued 2026-04-10 · amended 2026-08-26. Find the FDD at Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search. We cite source pages and do not redistribute PDFs.
View all sources, provenance and verification notes
| Document | Obtained from | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — A Sub Above, LLC (Jersey Mike's) Registry file 640926 · 394 pages Cover reads 'Date of Issuance: April 10, 2026, as amended August 26, 2026'; the running footer reads '2026_08 Franchise Disclosure Document'. Wisconsin registration effective 4/10/2026, status Registered; this is the newest document available in the registry. | Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search | Issued 2026-04-10; amended 2026-08-26 Retrieved 2026-08-29 | Newest available at retrieval |
AI-assisted extraction from the archived FDD text, independently machine-verified against the cited source (two passes plus tie-break); not human-reviewed. Extracted 2026-08-29. Last updated 2026-09-05. AI-assisted extraction independently machine-verified against the cited source document (2026-09-01): two independent AI reading passes plus tie-break re-inspection of every disagreement; 65 of 69 material fields confirmed (61 with the exact page citation re-confirmed), 2 corrected, 0 unresolved, 4 confirmed not disclosed. No human has reviewed this profile. Fiscal year covered: FY2025 (Dec 28, 2025). See how we use AI and verify data.
Fields flagged as uncertain (7)
- investment.franchise_fee_low
- investment.franchise_fee_high
- operations.owner_involvement
- item20.projected_openings_next_year
- franchisor.business_since
- franchisor.franchising_since
- units.us_only
Extraction notes (15)
- franchise_fee_low and franchise_fee_high are both recorded as $30,000, the sum of the two mandatory fees a new single-unit franchisee pays the franchisor for the right to operate: the $10,000 development fee per restaurant committed under the Area Development Agreement, which every franchisee must sign, and the $20,000 initial franchise fee due on signing the Franchise Agreement. The $10,000 grand opening advertising fee and the pre-opening technology charges are also mandatory and also paid to the franchisor, but they buy advertising and equipment rather than the franchise right; including them gives the cover page's $47,250 to $49,250 figure, which is set out in the notes.
- The reduced initial franchise fee of $8,500 that Item 5 says was charged to certain existing franchisees in fiscal 2025 applies to expansion by existing owners, not to a new single-unit buyer, so it is recorded in the note rather than as the low end.
- operations.owner_involvement is recorded as owner_operator_required. Item 15's first paragraph requires direct, on-premises supervision by the franchisee or the Controlling Principal and offers the trained-manager alternative only to franchisees operating more than one restaurant. The following paragraph allows a designated, franchisor-approved manager to devote the required full-time energy. The two statements sit uneasily together and a buyer should confirm the position for a single unit.
- Item 20 Table No. 5's projected-openings column sums to 261 across the state rows while the printed total reads 260; the printed total is recorded. The signed-but-not-open column sums exactly to its printed total of 563. Tables No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 all foot to their printed totals and reconcile with one another in every year.
- The 2025 franchised opening count of 259 in Table No. 3 includes 8 formerly affiliate-owned restaurants reclassified as franchised outlets on January 15, 2025 after the Blackstone acquisition, so genuine new franchised openings in 2025 were 251. The same 8 restaurants leave the company-owned column.
- franchisor.business_since and franchising_since are 1987 because Item 1 states that JMFS and its affiliates have conducted business of this type since February 1987 and offered franchises from February 1987. The franchisor entity itself, A Sub Above, LLC, was formed in October 2019 and began offering franchises in December 2019 after a securitization transaction. Item 1 also notes the original 'Mike's Submarines' restaurant on which the concept is based operated from 1956 to 2002.
- units.us_only is recorded as true. Item 20's tables are broken out by U.S. state and its Table No. 1 total of 3,227 matches the 3,227 restaurants Item 19 says were open and operating in the United States at December 28, 2025. Item 7 note 15 mentions international locations, which suggests some exist outside these tables; the reviewed items do not quantify them.
- fees.ad_fund is recorded as 5% with a high of 6% because Item 6 imposes two separate mandatory fund contributions — 1% to the Corporate Advertising and Development Fund and 4% to the National Media Fund — that are capped at 6% of Gross Receipts in aggregate. Recording them separately would understate the current burden.
- fees.local_marketing is null and not_disclosed: no minimum local advertising spend is imposed anywhere in Items 6 or 11. fees.cooperative has a null value with a 2% ceiling because no co-operative currently exists; the franchisor may create one and require membership at up to 2% of Gross Receipts.
- No minimum liquid capital or net worth requirement for franchisees appears on the cover pages or in Items 1, 5, 7, 11, 15 or 20; both fields are recorded as not disclosed. The only net-worth reference in the document is the Michigan cover-page escrow provision, which concerns the franchisor's net worth.
- risk.litigation.franchisee_initiated_count and franchisor_initiated_count are both zero: none of the three Item 3 matters is a dispute between the franchisor and a franchisee. The Washington Attorney General action named franchisees as co-defendants alongside the former franchisor but was brought by the state.
- The fiscal year changed in 2025 from a December 31 year end to a 52/53-week year ending on the Sunday nearest December 31, so fiscal 2025 ended December 28, 2025 and covers 362 days. Item 19's measurement period matches that year.
- Item 23 (receipts), the exhibits and the audited financial statements in Exhibits D-1 and D-2 were not parsed in detail. Items 2, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 22 were consulted only for specific points (the Guaranty exhibit reference in Item 9, the Coach Rod Smith financing terms in Item 10 and the fiscal year end in Item 21).
- Verification 2026-09-01: correct /investment/franchise_fee_low 30000 → 47250
- Verification 2026-09-01: correct /investment/franchise_fee_high 30000 → 49250
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