Amato's Sandwich Shops, Inc., is a chain of Italian restaurants that serves sandwiches,

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

and pasta throughout northern New England, United States. Founded in 1902 by Giovanni Amato, Amato's currently operates 44 stores. Recent expansion has been in the form of

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

. The company also cans its pasta and pizza sauces for sale in

Hannaford Hannaford may refer to: People * Alf Hannaford (1890–1969), South Australian inventor and industrialist * Ann Hannaford Lamar (born 1952), American jurist * Charlie Hannaford (footballer) (1896–1970), English footballer * Clive Hannaford (19 ...

supermarkets. Headquartered in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Amato's operates over 44 locations. About half of these are located throughout their home state of Maine. The chain also has a strong presence in Vermont (mostly within Maplefields convenience stores), and there are a handful of other locations within New Hampshire. They have expanded into Massachusetts, having opened four locations in November 2019. Amato's is best known for its Italian sandwiches. Its most popular menu item, called "The Original Real Italian," was supposedly invented in 1902. Giovanni named his sandwiches "Italians" in honor of his homeland. Unlike other sandwich shops they are served with onions, pickles, tomatoes, green peppers and olives with an Amato's fresh baked roll.

History

In 1902, Naples native Giovanni Amato (1875–1959) and his wife, Michelina (1878–1959), opened a store on India Street in Portland, Maine. According to official literature, Amato's sandwiches contained ham, American cheese, and fresh vegetables, which the

Italian immigrants The Italian diaspora is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended in the ...

along the waterfront seemed to enjoy. Amato named his sandwich the "Italian" in honor of his country and his people (not, as is widely believed, because of its ingredients). In 1972, Dominic Reali, an employee at the original Amato's on India Street, purchased the store from his boss. Under Reali, the company increased from one store to thirteen, and began franchising. Today there are 40 locations operating under the Amato's brand. Dominic Reali also added Greek olives,

sour pickle A pickled cucumber (commonly known as a pickle in the United States and Canada and a gherkin in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or ...

s, and his own oil (a blend of

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

and vegetable oil) to the famous Real Italian.

Amato's Xpress

In recent years, Amato's has allowed several franchises to operate under the name Amato's Xpress. These locations, found mostly in convenience stores in northern New England, purvey Amato's pizza, pasta, salads, and sandwiches, but fewer specialty items are available. Amato's franchises in Vermont-based Maplefield's gas stations do not use the Amato's Xpress name. Nearly all Amato's stores have dropped the Xpress

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

as of 2011.

References

External links

* {{Official website, www.amatos.com/home/
John F. Amato at the India Street Amato's in April 1959
Restaurants in Portland, Maine Italian restaurants in the United States Restaurants established in 1902 American companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in Maine

History

Amato's Xpress

See also

References

External links