Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches Opens in Brandon

Fast, fresh and simple are the guiding principles of Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, which recently opened its fourth restaurant in the Tampa Bay area at the corner of Kings Avenue and Brandon Boulevard.

All four eateries are under the ownership of Dustin Winn and his partners in Milwaukee, where Winn lived before moving to Florida.

In deciding to open franchise restaurants in the Tampa Bay area, Winn said it was a no-brainer to put Brandon on the list. The demographic fit was a match with the Jimmy John's mission, to provide fresh, quick-to-make sandwiches fast fresh and “mamma approved.”

"Families, an age-demographic of 25 to 45, and this intersection [Kings Avenue and State Road 60] is one of the busiest in all of Tampa," Winn said. "The lunch crowd we can deliver to in this area is huge, with the hospital and local businesses, and delivery is a huge part of our business."

Indeed, Winn and Matthew Schroeder, area manager, go as far as to say Jimmy John's is the “sandwich- delivery expert."

"We make subs in 30 seconds," Schroeder said. "We keep our delivery service area really small, within 10 minutes of the store, so we can get sandwiches to you fast."

Indeed, "all of our T-shirts say, 'Freaking Fast,' " Winn added. "We are the Ferrari of sandwich delivery."

Jimmy John's employees have been meeting with people and businesses in the area, making sample-sized sandwiches three times a week for tasting, "to promote our brand," Winn said.

"We know we wanted to be right here," he added, "and were considering more stores in the Greater Brandon market."

So, what can you expect from the Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches menu?

"Cold sandwiches, nothing hot, no soups," Schroeder said.

The only cheese: provolone. The only extras: pickles, cookies and chips.

"That's our entire menu," Winn said. "We keep it simple, we keep it fresh, we slice everything daily, even our vegetables. Our bread is baked fresh every morning."

The bread is considered "day old" after four hours and "we sell it the next day," as day old bread, Winn added.

"Everything we do is fresh and clean," Winn said.

Jimmy John's also features the "unwich," which includes the selected sandwich's ingredients wrapped within two large leaves of iceberg lettuce, instead of bread.

Jimmy John's, 659 W. Brandon Blvd., is open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In-shop prices start at $4.99 for a sub, $5.99 for a club. The "gargantuan" sandwich sells for $7.99 and includes provolone and all meat options — ham, turkey, roast beef, Genoa salami and capicola.

Winn said the eatery is interested in working with community groups and to making good on its promise to deliver food fast, with six drivers on staff ready to make good on that vow.

"You can't wait for pizza, you can't wait for Chinese, but you can order from our Jimmy John's and get your sandwich there in minutes," Winn said.

Only care to order one sandwich?

The promise still holds, Winn said.

For more information, or to place an order, call: 813-661-1500.