Chew on This: Jersey Mike’s Subs opens 2nd location in Cedar Rapids area

A new sub sandwich franchise is expanding into the Cedar Rapids metro area.

Brian and Lisa Ridge opened a Jersey Mike's Subs on Nov. 18 at 6095 Carlson Way in Marion. Now a second shop will open March 24 in Cedar Rapids.

The latest franchise shop is owned by Matt Erusha and Ben Sanderson. It will be located in The Fountains retail area at 5240 Edgewood Rd. NE, Suite 60, in what used to be Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping.

Jersey Mike's is taking over part of that site, and Farrell's moved to a stand-alone building.

Hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Erusha and Sanderson both grew up in Cedar Rapids, Erusha attending Xavier High School and Sanderson Prairie High School. They became friends while playing football at the University of Northern Iowa.

Erusha, who has been a bartender, and Sanderson, a real estate agent, had been hoping to go into business together and had been looking at franchises when they discovered Jersey Mike's.

'Everything about it, their values and quality, seemed like a good fit for us,” Erusha said.

The shop got its start in New Jersey and the East Coast, then spread to the West Coast, before starting to make its way to the Midwest. Erusha called it deli-style, where the meat is sliced right in front of you. It has both hot and cold subs but is probably best known for its Philly cheesesteak and chicken cheese steak subs, but its No. 1 sub is the Italian, Erusha said.

'I asked my aunt and uncle who live on the East Coast what their favorite place to eat is, and they said Jersey Mike's, so that really told me something,” he said.

Erusha said Sanderson started the process of opening the store about a year and a half ago - before the pandemic.

'We were really nervous about COVID and the uncertainty of it all ... but we just decided you've got to go for it,” he said. 'It did scare us, but it never scared use enough to scare us away.”

The store will have both in-store dining with social distancing and carryout. It has also signed up with Door Dash and GrubHub for delivery. Customers can order in advance using their app and pick it up in about 20 minutes.

Erusha and Sanderson said they are still hiring and expect to employ about 20 people. They also plan on expanding to the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. But for now they are busy preparing for their grand opening next week.

Erusha said he'd like to see the shop break the record of subs sold on opening day - 700 giants (15 inches).

'It's go time,” he said.

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