---
title: "Jersey Mike’s Went Public at a $7.3 Billion Valuation. It All Started With a 17-Year-Old and One Sub Shop."
url: https://burnaze.com/article/8f7da25c-b360-40ea-8350-be08e797edd8
source: "Entrepreneur Franchise"
original_url: https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/jersey-mikes-went-public-at-a-7-3-billion-valuation-it-all-started-with-a-17-year-old-and-one-sub-shop
author: "Jonathan Small"
category: "Sandwich & sub"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Sandwich & sub"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2026-07-31T19:20:34.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:18:50.247Z
image: https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Jersey-Mikes-GettyImages-2287627684.jpg
---

# Jersey Mike’s Went Public at a $7.3 Billion Valuation. It All Started With a 17-Year-Old and One Sub Shop.

**TL;DR:** Jersey Mike's went public with a $7.3 billion valuation, raising $1 billion in an IPO, after being acquired by Blackstone for $8 billion last year. The chain has over 3,300 locations and plans to expand to the UK and Ireland.

*By Jonathan Small, originally published in Entrepreneur Franchise on 2026-07-31. [Read the original](https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/jersey-mikes-went-public-at-a-7-3-billion-valuation-it-all-started-with-a-17-year-old-and-one-sub-shop).*

## Story

In 1975, a 17-year-old named Peter Cancro bought his first sub shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. On Wednesday, that shop’s parent company went public at a $7.3 billion valuation. Jersey Mike’s and its backers raised $1 billion in an IPO priced at $23 a share, more than 10 times oversubscribed, Bloomberg reports.

The chain now has more than 3,300 US and Canadian locations, plus an expansion deal with Cancro to open roughly 300 more across the UK and Ireland. Revenue grew 11% to $724 million last year, and Jersey Mike’s US sales growth has outpaced rivals like Jimmy John’s, while Subway has actually declined, as diners lean toward sandwiches over pricier bowl concepts.

Blackstone, which bought Jersey Mike’s last year for about $8 billion including debt, will retain 68% of voting power after the IPO. Cancro stepped back from CEO to chairman in April, handing the role to Charlie Morrison, who previously ran Wingstop and Salad and Go. Shares began trading Thursday on the NYSE under the ticker JMKE.

## Entities

- unit expansion (topic)
- Entrepreneur (publication)
- private equity (topic)
- Finance (sector)
- Subway (company)
- sales growth (topic)
- Jersey Mike's (company)
- Wingstop (company)
- Jimmy John's (company)
- Blackstone (investor)
- Peter Cancro (person)
- Charlie Morrison (person)

---
Originally reported by Jonathan Small, Entrepreneur Franchise (https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/jersey-mikes-went-public-at-a-7-3-billion-valuation-it-all-started-with-a-17-year-old-and-one-sub-shop). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/8f7da25c-b360-40ea-8350-be08e797edd8).