Amato's Sandwich Shops, Inc., is a chain of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

throughout northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, 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 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 sandwich A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, hoagie ( Philadelphia metropolitan area and Western Pennsylvania English), hero ( New York City English), Italian ( Maine English), grinder (New England English), wedge (Westchester, NY), or a spuck ...

es. 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 Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

native Giovanni Amato (1875–1959) and his wife, Michelina (1878–1959), opened a store on India Street in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. According to official literature, Amato's sandwiches contained

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...

American cheese Modern American cheese is a type of processed cheese developed in the 1910s made from cheddar, Colby, or similar cheeses. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor, has a medium-firm consistency, and has a low melting point. It is typically yel ...

, 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 Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

) 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 Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

-based Maplefield's

gas stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

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