Jersey Mike’s is considering an initial public offering and has submitted a confidential S-1 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Monday press release. The company has not yet determined the scale or target pricing of the IPO.
Over the last few years, Jersey Mike’s has emerged as Subway’s biggest challenger for leadership of the sub sandwich sector. The brand hit 3,000 stores in early 2025 and started 2026 with 3,227 stores, according to its franchise disclosure document, up from 2,387 total stores at the start of 2023. That growth continued after Blackstone’s acquisition of a majority stake in the chain in 2024.
Jersey Mike’s also has strong unit economics for a sandwich shop, with an AUV of roughly $1.4 million among stores open longer than a year, according to its FDD.
Subway, by contrast, does not disclose its AUV in its FDD, but an estimate by Circana found the largest sandwich brand in the U.S. had an AUV of only about $500,000, the lowest among 50 major restaurant chains.
These comparatively strong unit economics have helped power Jersey Mike’s growth, and put it in a position to capitalize on potential investor interest in restaurants in the public markets. While 2025 saw little IPO activity in restaurants, some experts predicted that Black Rock Coffee Bar’s relative success with its public market debut would serve as a signal for other chains looking to go public.
For the most part, the major financial activity in the restaurant sector flowed the other way last year. Denny’s and Potbelly both went private in major transactions; Del Taco was sold from publicly-traded Jack in the Box to a consortium of private investors; and Yum Brands said it was exploring strategic alternatives for Pizza Hut that could insulate that chain from the pressures of the public market.
