Jersey Mike's opens 83 stores in Q2 and targets a year-end London debut in first earnings report as a public company

Jersey Mike's opened 83 restaurants in the second quarter of 2026, pushing the sandwich chain to 3,378 stores and 8.1% year-over-year unit growth, the company reported September 9 in its first full quarterly earnings release since going public on the NYSE this summer. Systemwide sales rose 10% to $1.21 billion, same-store sales grew 2.3%, and CEO Charlie Morrison told investors the brand's first United Kingdom location — a flagship site already secured in London — is on track to open by the end of the year, according to Restaurant Dive.

The Manasquan, New Jersey-based franchisor has spent the past decade as one of the fastest-growing concepts in the sandwich category, and the newly public company is now showing its development hand in detail. The system is almost entirely franchised — 3,322 domestic franchised stores against just 26 company-owned units — with 30 international restaurants, all in Canada. Behind that base sits a striking pipeline: 1,400 signed and committed U.S. stores in development, with another 200 in final negotiation, per Restaurant Dive. Management's long-term vision calls for 7,500 U.S. locations and 15,000 worldwide.

Total revenue for the quarter rose 10% to $208 million, and adjusted EBITDA grew 7% to $114 million, per the company's earnings release. Net income came in at $37 million, down from $59 million a year earlier. Average unit volume stands at roughly $1.38 million, and Morrison has set a target of $2 million-plus — a goal the company is chasing through digital and catering rather than bigger boxes. Digital channels already account for 43% of sales, up from 41%, with a long-term target of 60-70%, and catering sits at about 3% of transactions with room to grow toward 10%, according to Restaurant Dive.

For the full year, the company guided to same-store sales growth of 2.5-3.0%, net unit growth of at least 8%, and adjusted EBITDA growth of at least 20%.

"Same-store sales accelerated in the second quarter, driven by transaction growth, which is particularly encouraging given challenged traffic trends across the industry," Morrison said in the earnings release.

The U.K. entry is Jersey Mike's first move beyond North America. Beyond the London flagship, multiple additional U.K. sites have been selected, store design and menu localization are nearly complete, and the first U.K. general manager finished training in early September, per Restaurant Dive. "Our supply chain is substantially in place. Store design and menu localization are nearly complete," Morrison said of the launch.

An 8%-plus growth commitment on a 3,378-store base implies roughly 270 or more openings a year, and the 1,600 stores signed or in final negotiation equal nearly half the existing footprint — a multi-year stream of inline deals that should keep Jersey Mike's among the most active tenants in neighborhood and community centers. The digital tilt matters for site selection, too: with 43% of sales already off-premise-oriented and virtually every store fitted with a second makeline dedicated to digital orders, expect the brand to keep favoring end caps and pickup-friendly positions over dine-in square footage. The AUV push from $1.38 million toward $2 million is designed to happen inside the existing four walls, which strengthens unit economics — and franchisee credit quality — without demanding larger footprints. And now that the chain reports quarterly, landlords get something they rarely had from the formerly private company: public unit guidance and a visible pipeline to underwrite against.