Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, Inc. (also called Capriotti's) is a
fast casual restaurant chain in the United States. The restaurant chain was founded in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
in 1976.
Capriotti's has 112 company-owned and
franchise locations in 27 states.
History
Capriotti's was founded in
Little Italy, Wilmington, Delaware in 1976.
The restaurant is named after the founders' grandfather, Philip Capriotti.
In 1988, the second restaurant location opened in
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...
. In 1991, Capriotti's began franchising their restaurants.
In 1993, the first restaurant location in Las Vegas, Nevada was opened on Sahara Avenue, near
Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas Boulevard is a major road in Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, Nevada, United States, best known for the Las Vegas Strip portion of the road and its casinos. Formerly carrying U.S. Route 91 in Nevada, U.S. Route 91 (US 91), wh ...
.
In 2004, Ashley Morris and Jason Smylie opened a franchise in Las Vegas. At the time, Morris was the youngest financial adviser at
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
.
Smylie was a software engineer at
Bechtel Nevada. Morris and Smylie were also investors in the housing market and made the decision to invest in a franchise after learning that the return on investment was higher than anything they were looking at investing in.
In 2007, Morris and Smylie put the company in escrow. In the following year Morris, Smylie and a group of investors consisting of 95% Las Vegans bought Capriotti's. Capriotti's had 44 restaurant locations by the end of 2008.
Morris is the
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the company.
In 2008 and 2009 the chain was the official sandwich sponsor of the
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...
in Las Vegas.
Capriotti's was ranked in
''Entrepreneur'' magazine's top 500 franchise list in 2010 and remained ranked through 2014.
Capriotti's starred on Food Network's ''
Unwrapped'' in December 2011.
In November 2013, Capriotti's expanded its presence on the East Coast by opening its first location in Washington DC.
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
was the first customer served at the store's grand opening.
That year, Capriotti's brought in over $58 million in revenue and experienced a 48% growth over the previous three years. In 2014, the company was named one of the "Top 10 Best Food Franchises for Your Buck" and one of "America's Best Franchises" by
''Forbes'' magazine.
The Sandelman & Associates Quick Track Study on the Top 10 Quick Service Restaurant Concepts ranked Capriotti's among the top ten in overall satisfaction and won the award for highest quality and taste in the 2014 study.
Business operations
Capriotti's is now based in Las Vegas, Nevada and has its largest concentration of shops there. The restaurant chain has 164 locations in 31 states including: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
In 2014, it ranked #293 in
''Entrepreneur's'' Franchise 500. In 2016, Capriotti's was ranked #264 in ''Entrepreneur's'' Franchise 500.
Products
Capriotti's specializes in cold, grilled, and vegetarian
hoagie
A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, is a type of American cold or hot sandwich made from a submarine roll (an elongated bread roll) that is split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments.
Although "subma ...
s or submarine sandwiches.
Each restaurant roasts whole turkeys for 12 hours nightly, hand pulls meats, and makes their own meatballs and coleslaw.
[
In November 2009, the Bobbie, one of Capriotti's signature sandwiches, was voted "The Greatest Sandwich in America" by AOL.com.]USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' named Capriotti's one of the "10 Great Places for a Surprising Sandwich".
Technology
Capriotti has utilized Google Glass
Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a discontinued brand of smart glasses developed by Google's X Development (formerly Google X), with a mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-u ...
to re-record employee training videos in a first person view.
References
External links
*
{{Fast-food chains of the United States
Submarine sandwich restaurants
Companies based in Spring Valley, Nevada
Fast-food franchises
American companies established in 1976
Privately held companies based in the Las Vegas Valley
Fast casual restaurants
Restaurants established in 1976
1976 establishments in Delaware