By Muriel J. Smith
If there’s any secret to Peter Cancro’s success, it’s that he works hard, has enthusiasm, drive, ambition, …and a strong belief in giving back to the community.
The Point Pleasant native is the founder and CEO of Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, judged the nation’s fastest growing chain in the Nation’s Restaurant News 2014 Top 100. With more than 1,300 locations either open or close to being open across the United States, it’s easy to understand how the firm has nearly doubled in size in the past three years.
The list of even more credentials and awards and titles is mind-boggling: Sales top $200 million, a favorite Top Fast-Casual Restaurant in 2014 by Consumer Reports, Cancro himself was named the 2013 International Franchise Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year, and 2013 Golden Chain Award Winner according to Restaurant News. The list goes on. And Jersey Mike’s wins just about every sub market contest it enters.
There’s no doubt this hard working high school graduate who believes in quality products and service with a smile rates all the accolades of the business and industry world. But locally, and throughout the world of the military and organizations geared to health, children, or the community, Peter Cancro is better known for his thoughtfulness and generosity. And for many good reasons.
Cancro was 14 years old in the 1970s and working summers at Mike’s Subs while attending Point Pleasant Beach High School. By his senior year, besides being captain of his school’s football team, he was still serving customers at Mike’s Subs, enjoying the camaraderie he developed with the regulars, his cheery greetings and friendly questions to newcomers quickly making them regulars. So when the original owner decided he wanted to sell, high school senior Football Player Cancro decided he wanted to be Business Owner Cancro. His coach, Rod Smith, was a banker and had enough faith in the 17-year old to underwrite the purchase of Mike’s Subs for more than $100,000.
By 1987, Cancro changed the name of the sub shop, always known for its high quality, to Jersey Mike’s Subs, so everyone would know and remember where it started. This was also the time he began franchising and his national expansion. All the while, he continued to insist on the high quality and friendly customer service he always felt were important – all the vegetables are absolutely fresh, the meats and cheeses are sliced on the spot and piled high on delicious bread that’s baked fresh throughout the day. The certified Angus beef top round is trimmed, tied and cooked at the store, and service is quick and made to order for every individual customer. Then of course, there’s “the Juice,” a mixture of red wine vinegar and olive oil, that’s a staple for Jersey Mike’s Subs.
If “the Juice” is important to customers, even the tomato on a sub is vitally important, the CEO points out. “We are obsessed with detail when it comes to food quality. For instance, we live by the 5 R’s of a tomato: Rinse. Red. Ripe. Ready. Refrigerate. Our entire sub experience depends on this one simple rule – if a tomato is not ready it affects everything else – the juice slides off and the flavor profile suffers. Patience. Shortcuts don’t pay off in the long run.”
After all these years of making subs, building a sub empire, and slicing, baking, trimming, and cutting, does Peter Cancro really still eat Jersey Mike’s subs? “People often ask if I ever get tired of eating our subs. No way. That would be like getting tired of eating,” he laughs.
To ensure that friendly greeting and quality service and food remain at the level he expects, every franchise owner has to attend 360 hours of training including a portion held at the place where it all began…Point Pleasant Beach. And additional training offerings are provided to owners, managers and team members on a regular basis. “For us, the counter where we are interacting with our customer is the most important place in the store. Everything happens in that stretch of real estate. That’s where you make your strongest impression – even before the first bite,” the man who knows how to smile explains.
Training is vital, he continues, “Consistency is the key to our success and we reinforce that with frequent training. Our customers in turn reward us with their continued loyalty. It’s safe to say we are a training company. Training separates you from competitors.”
With headquarters for the giant company located in Manasquan, there are 43 Jersey Mike’s in the Garden State, including the original location in Point Pleasant Beach. In the Two River area, there are restaurants in Shrewsbury, Middletown, Red Bank, Holmdel, and West Long Branch, including one at the Student Center at Monmouth University.
There’s one more thing Cancro insists on from everyone who secures a franchise: give back to your community. All franchisees are encouraged to follow the example of their leader.
Take 2014 for example. In a single year, Jersey Mike’s celebrated its fourth annual “Month of Giving,” a national fundraising campaign that raised $2.1 million for more than 100 local charities, bringing the total for the first four years of the program to more than $5 million in contributions. Then there is the Wreaths Across America campaign. Since 2012, Jersey Mike’s has raised close to $1 million to help that nonprofit organization place hundreds of thousands of remembrance wreaths at the headstones of the nation’s veterans during the holiday season. Following Superstorm Sandy, Jersey Mike’s raised more than $113,000 for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, benefitting families affected by the October storm. Holiday Express, well known for spreading cheer, happiness and a chance at holiday joy in hospitals, nursing homes, children’s centers and elsewhere, has also benefitted from Jersey Mike’s generosity and dedication towards giving back to the community.
As the Two River area heads into 2015, Cancro is continuing his theory that a good business can be a great business when the people at the helm remember there are always others in need and those who can have an obligation to give a helping hand. In fact, plans are already under way for Jersey Mike’s 5th Annual Month of Giving with the hopes to break all previous records supporting local charitable causes in March. It’s all part of the lessons Cancro learned from his friends and neighbors when he was growing up. “When I was a teen, I saw local business people like Bob Hoffman, Jack Baker, Rod Smith and Norm Wolfson doing so much for their community. Because of them, making a difference was part of the mission from Day One, “ he said.
“Show your enthusiasm every day – but you better be authentic or people will see right through you,” he said. It’s the same message Cancro had as a 17-year old kid wrapping smiles and friendship along with high-quality sub sandwiches.
