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Jimmy John’s launches smaller sandwichJimmy John’s launches smaller sandwich

Rollout follows Subway slider LTO

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

October 8, 2019

2 Min Read
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Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches is rolling out a line of smaller, less pricey sandwiches as a permanent offering just weeks after Subway started offering sliders as a limited-time offer.

Jimmy John’s $3 Little John sandwiches are 6.5 inches long compared to the 2,800-unit chain’s standard 8-inch sandwich, which has an average price of around $5.50. Any of Jimmy John’s Original sandwiches — numbers 1 through 6 on the menu, plus the JJ BLT — in the smaller size.

The chain based in Champaign, Ill., has hired musical artist Lil’ John to promote the sandwiches in an ad spot, as well as on social media app Snapchat, for which Jimmy John’s has introduced a special lens for fans to use.


“Everything our customers love about Jimmy John’s sandwich can be found in the all-new $3 Little John,” chief marketing officer John Shea said in a release announcing the new line.

“The combination of high quality ingredients — all-natural meats, and sliced veggies and fresh-baked bread — paired with a three dollar price point makes the Little John an incredible value.”

On Sept. 5, Subway began offering sliders starting at $1.89 at participating restaurants in its domestic system of around 24,800 restaurants. They’re available in four varieties, all on slider rolls:

Related:McDonald’s, Jack in the Box join chicken sandwich battle

Cheesesteak Slider: Thinly sliced steak, American cheese, onions, green peppers and Chipotle Southwest sauce

Subway_LittleCheesesteak_HR-CMYK.jpg

Turkey Slider: Sliced turkey, pepper Jack cheese, spinach and mayonnaise

Subway_sw43044usSUB25120_National_LittleTurkey_Slider.jpg

Italian Spice Slider: Sliced pepperoni, salami and American cheese with vinaigrette

Subway_ItalianSpice_Slider.jpg

Ham & Jack Slider: Black Forest ham and pepper Jack cheese

Subway_Ham&Jack.jpg

Subway has not said how long the small sandwiches will be available.

Both Subway and Jimmy John’s could be trying to tap into American’s burgeoning habit of between-meal snacking. According to consumer research firm The NPD Group, snacks between meals and after dinner accounted for 23 percent of all restaurant traffic in 2018.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

 

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About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality.

Hi is responsible for spotting and reporting on F&B trends across the country for both publications. 

He is the co-host of a podcast, Menu Talk with Pat and Bret, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities, and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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