Jersey Mike's Vs. Jimmy John's: Which Chain Reigns Supreme?
Few things are as satisfying as sinking your teeth into a freshly prepared sub sandwich. The art of the sandwich dates back to 18th century Europe and remains a favorite of people from all backgrounds. As legend has it, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was playing a hand of cards when hunger set in. He needed something he could eat while still playing his card game and enjoying conversation with his company.
So, what'd he do? He requested that meat be placed between two slices of bread. The trend stuck and the sandwich was named in his honor. Whether this story is truth or apocryphal, it encapsulates everything we love about sandwiches — convenience, flavor, and creativity. That's also what we look for when ordering from our favorite sub sandwich chains. Today, Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's are two of the most popular sandwich franchises around.
When comparing them, we need to examine the criteria that matches tasty subs with impeccable quality and service. While Montagu was called the Earl of Sandwich, putting these sandwich chains head-to-head will help you decide which deserves the designation of sandwich king. This guide will break it down point by point so that you'll know whether Jersey Mike's or Jimmy John's reigns supreme.
Hot subs vs. cold subs
Most people start with temperature when considering what kind of sandwich they're looking to eat. Hot subs deliver fresh meat hot off the grill, savory melting cheese, and the satisfying crunch of biting into toasted bread. Cold subs offer deli fresh slices of delicious cold cuts topped with garden fresh veggies and ripe flavor. You might prefer either-or depending on your mood.
Jersey Mike's offers both hot and cold subs, while Jimmy John's only has cold subs. A glance at Jersey Mike's menu shows roughly a dozen of each. Its cold subs are crafted Northeast Style and prepared right in front of you. Cold sub options at Jersey Mike's includes selections like the Jersey Shore's Favorite, which is a classic ham and provolone sandwich, and The Veggie, a sub with Swiss cheese, provolone, and green bell peppers. The hot side of the menu has offerings like the Chipotle Chicken Cheese Steak and Mike's Famous Philly.
While Jimmy John's only has cold subs, its specialties like the spicy East Coast Italian, the hearty Hunter's Club, and flavorful Ultimate Porker are all worthy options. However, they still won't do much for you if you have your heart set on a hot sub when you're placing your order.
Winner: Jersey Mike's. There's no substitute for having your choice of hot and cold subs.
Prices
If you're like many people, you're constantly minding your wallet and looking for deals. If price is a deciding factor for you, Jimmy John's has plenty of options that are in your wheelhouse. You'll pay anywhere between $5 and $24 for a sub. This ranges from the smallest options on the 6.5-inch Little John's menu, to the 16-inch giant sub options. Sandwiches on the 8-inch Plain Slim's menu start at roughly $6.
Jimmy John's also offers value with its combo options. A Jimmy John's combo includes a sandwich of varying sizes, chips, and a 22-ounce drink. These combo prices depend on the size and selection, but it's not difficult to get your fill no matter how much you have to spend.
Jersey Mike's is a bit pricier than Jimmy John's. The subs at Jersey Mike's generally range between about $7 and $17 depending on the size and type. This price can quickly go up when you order add-ons. For instance, extra meat can cost you an additional $4. You can add a soda and drink at Jersey Mike's, but bundling these items doesn't offer any savings.
Winner: Jimmy John's. The menu items are cheaper, and the restaurant offers options for every price range.
Quality of the bread
Talk to any sub sandwich lover and you know that fresh baked bread is the secret ingredient. As fundamental as that sounds, nothing ruins a sandwich like bread that is too hard or too mushy. You also want your sandwich bread to have mouth watering flavor, but not flavor so overbearing that it distracts from the sandwich ingredients.
In assessing bread quality, both Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's have a lot to live up from sandwich purists. Jersey Mike's is a chain that hangs its head on northeast flavor, and is headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey, near sandwich meccas like Philadelphia and New York City. Jimmy John's is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, in the same state as foodie capital Chicago, and a couple hours from Indianapolis, a city that prides itself on its pork tenderloin sandwich.
So, how does each restaurant's bread compare? First, consider the bread options. Jersey Mike's gives customers the option of white, wheat, rosemary parmesan, and gluten-free bread. Jimmy John's has just one type of bread — a french bread loaf.
Both chain locations bake bread in-store and keep them fresh. Jimmy John's has a policy of discarding and swapping out all bread after 4 hours. Jersey Mike's and Jimmy's both have tasty, quality bread, but Jersey Mike's bread is a bit fluffier and thicker.
Winner: Jersey Mike's. The restaurant gets the edge for more options and preferable taste.
Toppings options and quality
Sandwich lovers expect fresh and flavorful toppings with plenty of selections. The toppings add flavor and personality to a sandwich and let you make it just how you like it. You might prefer an abundance of pickles and hot peppers, or perhaps you keep it simple with fresh, juicy lettuce and tomato.
Freshness of ingredients isn't a problem for either Jersey Mike's or Jimmy John's. Where available, Jersey Mike's locations use fresh produce sourced from local farms. These fresh ingredients are packed and shipped to each store from partners in the agriculture industry. At Jimmy John's, you get the benefit of fresh vegetables that are sliced in-store at each location. Both restaurants take pride in the quality of its vegetables. You're not likely to come across brown, wilting lettuce or old tomatoes when you patronize either.
Both Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's also offer a wide selection of toppings. Examples of Jersey Mike's toppings include grilled onions, portobello mushrooms, jalapeños, fresh green bell peppers, and cherry peppers. It also offers white American, Swiss, and provolone cheeses, salad dressings, and two types of mayo. At Jimmy John's, you will appreciate a selection of sliced pickles, onions, cucumbers, Jimmy Peppers, and fresh tomato. It also offers provolone cheese, avocado spread, Hellman's mayo and dijon mustard.
Winner: Tie. Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's both prioritize freshness and variety of its toppings, and it shows in the quality of the product.
Variety of sandwiches
If you're the type of person who likes trying something new every time, you won't get bored with either restaurant anytime soon. Jimmy John's has creative flair with the sandwich variety it offers. This menu is broken down into Originals and Favorites. Originals consist of selections like The Pepe, which is a ham and provolone sandwich, the Turkey Tom, consisting of turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and the J.J.B.L.T., which is Jimmy John's version of the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich (BLT). These are the tried and true options that you can't go wrong with.
On the Favorites menu, Jimmy John's has the Hunter's Club, a combination of double roast beef and provolone, while the Italian Night Club features salami, capicola, ham, salami, and provolone, topped with fresh onions, mayo, oil and vinegar, and seasonings. The Bootlegger Club features roast beef and turkey, topped with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and oil and vinegar. The sandwich chain also offers new selections like its Caprese Salami Pesto sandwich.
Jersey Mike's feature sandwich selections like its Ham and Provolone, Turkey and Provolone, and Roast Beef and Provolone for people wanting something basic and delicious. Its more complex cold sub offerings include the Club Supreme, featuring roast beef, turkey, applewood smoked bacon, ham and mayo, the Original Italian, which comes with provolone, ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami, and pepperoni, and the Cancro Special, which comes with top rounds, provolone, and pepperoni.
Winner: Tie. Both have a little bit of everything.
Service and business model
Speed is everything for Jimmy John's. In fact, the company uses the catch phrase "freaky fast" and lives up to it. You won't typically have any issues of backed up in lines or slow service when you go to a Jimmy John's. The restaurant has sandwich makers that are quick and efficient, and can get you in and out with your order. People who want something quick and on the go will absolutely appreciate Jimmy John's business model. You can easily go into the restaurant, take a look at the big board and pick a numbered sandwich option or combo that suits your fancy. You'll be in and out in no time!
Jersey Mike's has excellent quality and service, but doesn't offer the level of speed that you get from Jimmy John's. It can't really compete in this regard since Jersey Mike's also offers hot sandwiches, which will naturally take more time. Jersey Mike's is content with having a different business model, since quality is its calling card.
Both restaurants offer online ordering, but the Jimmy John's ordering platform is more user-friendly and graphically pleasing. You get all of the information about your order on-screen without having to click out. Jersey Mike's online ordering is a bit clunky, requires more clicks to find information, and regularly signs you out mid-order, even if you're shopping as a guest.
Winner: Jimmy John's for speed and convenience.
Healthy choices
If you're trying to reach a certain level of health and fitness or just watching what you eat, it pays to look into sensible nutritional options. Jimmy John's gets the nod for healthiness since it offers an "unwich" lettuce wrap for people looking to cut carbs and gluten by ditching the bread. Jersey Mike's doesn't offer a lettuce wrap, but does provide gluten-free bread.
Jimmy John's also makes its nutritional information easier to access on its site, allowing you to make sensible choices. Nutritional information isn't as easily accessed on Jersey Mike's website, since you have to click individual items to find out.
On the whole, sandwiches in similar categories have lower calories at Jimmy John's than those at Jersey Mike's. For example, The Pepe at Jimmy John's has 370 calories in the smallest version, 600 calories in the regular version, 650 calories in a larger version, and 1,200 calories in the largest version. Compare that to Jersey Mike's ham and provolone sandwich, which has 460 calories in the smallest version, 790 calories in the regular version, and 1,490 calories in the giant version.
The same applies to sodium content and total fat. Jimmy John's Pepe has 1,520 grams of sodium and 29 grams of total fat. The regular ham and provolone at Jersey Mike's has 1,904 grams of sodium and 44 grams of total fat.
Winner: Jimmy John's. Side by side comparisons show that Jimmy John's sandwiches are healthier, and the unwich puts it over the top.
Other menu items
Sometimes you want more than just a sandwich when you place an order. When comparing Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's head to head, you have to also consider things like side items and desserts. Both of these restaurants offer chips, desserts, and other side items.
Jersey Mike's offers more mainstream potato chip options like Lay's and Doritos. Jimmy John's chips selections have more uniqueness, in the form of the company's branded personal flavors. Examples of Jimmy John's chips include flavors like Regular Jimmy Chips, Thinny Chips, BBQ, and jalapeno. Jimmy John's also offers unique side items like jumbo kosher dill pickles, and a zesty avocado spread.
In terms of dessert options, Jersey Mike's offers chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies, and gooey chocolate chip brownies. Jimmy John's offers chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies. Both restaurants have a plethora of fountain drink options. Jimmy John's sells Coke products while Jersey Mike's sells Pepsi products.
Winner: Jimmy John's. Unique options like pickles and an avocado spread, along with its own brand of chips give Jimmy John's the nod.
Oils and spices
Depending on what kind of subs you like, you might be looking for varying degrees of oil and spices. Flavorful oils is an area that Jersey Mike's outshines Jimmy John's. Jersey Mike's uses red wine vinegar and a blend of olive oil to give its sandwiches some additional zest. These subtle touches add additional flavor to your sandwich that you will appreciate.
This oil and vinegar blend is used on both cold and hot sandwiches at Jersey Mike's. Jersey Mike's sandwich preparers also have more of an understanding of oil and vinegar and can add whatever amount you prefer. Be mindful of this when you order so that you don't get too heavy-handed and drench your bread in oil. Jimmy John's also has in-house oil and vinegar that it uses on its sandwiches. It doesn't have the same level of zing that you get with Jersey Mike's subs.
Jersey Mike's subs seemingly have more spice and flavor thanks to its sauces. Jersey Mike's offers a couple of different salad dressings, like bleu cheese and ranch, in addition to regular and chipotle mayo. Jimmy John's offers its Kickin' Ranch on the side, Hellmann's mayo, Grey Poupon, and Jimmy Mustard. Jersey Mike's sauces offer more interesting flavor, while Jimmy John's sauces are better suited for efficiency and crowd-pleasing options.
Winner: Jersey Mike's. The oil and vinegar tastes better and the sauces add more pick-me-up to any sandwich you order.
Customization options
People typically go to Jimmy John's when they know what they want and want it as quickly as possible. The menu is set up that way, with all of its sandwiches corresponding to a name and number you can quickly choose. Both sandwich shops let you eat what you'd like, but Jimmy John's is more apt to focus on speed and efficiency rather than striving for the perfect taste combination.
While Jersey Mike's also has menu selections with sandwich names and numbers, the ordering process is more open-ended like some other sub restaurants. Jersey Mike's even has a secret menu that those in the know use to order their sandwiches just the way that they like. This includes a shorthand way of swapping out different types of meat to create interesting and unique combinations. Having a secret menu lets you play around with different taste options so that your sandwich is made to your liking.
Winner: Jersey Mike's makes customization a bit easier.
Availability and convenience
Sometimes the best restaurant is the one that is most available to you. When comparing Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's in this regard, Jimmy John's gets the edge. Today, Jimmy John's has more than 2,700 restaurants spread out in 43 states. Jersey Mike's has 2,509 locations in the United States, including two abroad. Jersey Mike's is expanding, with 257 locations coming soon.
Depending on where you live, it's likely easier to find a Jimmy John's location when you're in a pinch rather than a Jersey Mike's. Jimmy John's doubles down on its convenience by also offering drive-thru locations. You can go through the drive-thru and order at the screen or pick up mobile orders.
Both Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's have excellent customer rewards programs. The Shore points program gives you a bonus when you sign up, offers birthday rewards, personalized orders, and promotions and offers. Jimmy John's Freaky Fast Rewards give you a free sandwich after you have placed your first order, special birthday surprises, sneak previews of new menu items, a speedier check out, and bonus challenges and surprises.
Winner: Jimmy John's. Locations, drive-thru, and a more user-friendly platform give Jimmy John's the advantage.
Ordering for large groups
Whether you're ordering for friends and family members on a random night, planning a birthday gathering, or taking work lunch orders, it pays to see how these restaurants handle large group orders. Both handle group orders and event catering. Each restaurant allows you to comb through its menu selections to choose sandwiches that will be best for your group.
Jimmy John's business model is better suited to catering because of its simplified menu, speed of service, and the fact that it only offers cold sandwiches. On Jimmy John's website, it asks customers to give the restaurant at least 24 hours to place catering orders as a courtesy, but still leaves the window open that it can fulfill same day catering orders. This is remarkable speed for large orders even with today's technology and convenience.
That's not to say that Jersey Mike's catering isn't also up to par. The restaurant provides group orders in the form of subs by the box, subs by the bag, box lunches, choices of chips and drinks, and cookie and brownie trays. You can get a local price for your catered Jersey Mike's order on the website by selecting the number of people you're serving, whether you want the bag or personal option, and your selection of sides and drinks.
Winner: Jimmy John's. Speedy promises let you order catering orders in a pinch.
The overall food quality
Both Jersey Mike's and Jimmy John's shine in different areas, but the true deciding factor will always come down to the overall quality of the food and service. You will probably pick and choose a few favorites on each restaurant's menu, and your mileage may vary based on the individual restaurants you patronize — but overall, Jersey Mike's gets the nod in this category. This is subjective, but the people have spoken.
Jersey Mike's has been voted the best sandwich chain in America based on a Market Force consumer loyalty survey. The survey explores categories like food quality, speed, and cleanliness. Perhaps it's fitting that Jimmy John's was the second-highest rated in the survey.
From a taste standpoint, the quality of Jersey Mike's succulent comfort food is hard to argue against. If there's a tiebreaker, it lies with Jersey Mike's Philly cheese steak selections. Purists enjoy local sandwich shops, but Jersey Mike's offers an incredible selection of Phillies that are beyond respectable for any chain restaurant.
Winner: Jersey Mike's.