Budding franchise Earl of Sandwich is preparing to open its third location in metro Atlanta. The new sandwich shop is coming to Bell Glenridge, a 185 unit mid-rise apartment community just off Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs.
The fast casual eatery features a variety of hot and cold sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups and "pizzas," cheese and sauce on sandwich bread. Earl of Sandwich has been called "posh Subway."
The franchise is based in Orlando, Florida and according to the company, has a legit claim to being "OG" in the sandwich game.
"In 1762, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich®, invented the meal that changed dining forever. As the story goes, he was playing cards and did not want to leave the gaming table to eat. He asked for a serving of roast beef to be placed between two slices of bread so he could eat with his hands. Thus, the Sandwich was born."
"In 2004, Lord John Montagu, the 11th Earl of Sandwich® and his son, the Honorable Orlando Montagu, direct descendants of the inventor of the sandwich, partnered with Robert Earl, founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood®, to launch the Earl of Sandwich® restaurants."
The first restaurant opened on March 19, 2004 in Downtown Disney (now known as Disney Springs), with subsequent units also opening at Downtown Disney at Disneyland in Los Angeles and Disneyland Paris, too. According to the Earl of Sandwich website, the company currently has a total of 53 restaurants: 30 in the United States, 8 in the Philippines, 7 in Canada, 7 in South Korea, and 1 in France. A location in London opened April 18, 2011, but closed on February 28, 2014.
Earl of Sandwich made their Atlanta debut in October 2016 with their second floor location at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead. (Earl of Sandwich has reportedly benefited from an uptick in patrons coming to the sandwich shop instead of the disappointing and overpriced Citizens Market food hall on the mall's first floor.) Former Coca-Cola executive Alex Espalin was the local franchisee behind the Atlanta opening who intended to open several units in the market. Ultimately Espalin sold the Phipps restaurant and the rights to metro Atlanta. Entrepreneur Charles Wang is now the brand's local franchisee.
Wang opened a small format Earl of Sandwich at The Municipal Market (FKA The Sweet Auburn Curb Market) in late 2022.
The Sandy Springs sandwich shop will be located between Vinny's New York Pizza and the leasing office for the apartment community. The new shop brings a sandwich offering back to the 1,300 square foot space where Jimmy John's previously closed.
It seems a little crazy to take over a space vacated by sandwich industry icon Jimmy John's but perhaps the deal was too good to pass up. It's worth noting, too, that Gruby's New York Deli is located across the street in Glenridge Point, and Firehouse Subs is close by, too.
Despite being a sandwich shop conversion, the opening of Earl of Sandwich has reportedly been delayed multiple times with the hope now being that the restaurant will open before the end of October.
Have you been to Earl of Sandwich? What is your favorite sandwich shop? What kind of fast-casual eatery do you think is underrepresented in metro Atlanta?
Please share your thoughts below.
7 comments:
There may be ties to royalty however next to Gruby’s the Earl looks and feels schlocky, {Yiddish}
Grubys is dreck.
You just do not know what to order.
And their logo is a fercacta schmeckel!
Baldinos makes the best sandwiches in Atlanta.
MgDonals makes em good
I used to eat Earls a lot when i went to Vegas and stayed on the strip. The one in Phipps Plaza isn't as good as the one in Vegas.
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