Jersey Mike’s IPO, summer hiring, Vegas dining

Jersey Mike’s is officially going public. The fast-casual sandwich chain filed documents with federal regulators for a $100 million IPO. The offering comes less than two years after the company was sold to the private-equity firm Blackstone.

Jersey Mike’s plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange and will use the funds to pay off debt and for other corporate purposes. The offering could also end up the largest such offering in restaurant industry history, at least until Dunkin’ owner Inspire Brands goes public, which is expected later this year.

So much for a boost in summer hiring. Restaurants and bars cut 33,000 jobs last month, according to labor department data released on Thursday.

The department also revised downward May’s jobs numbers by more than 10,000, more than wiping out the year’s jobs gains. The industry has cut more than 19,000 jobs so far this year, continuing a pattern of low growth over the past three years.

Restaurant job growth

Since 2022, restaurants have created jobs at about a third of the rate that they did before the pandemic. The lack of restaurant hiring led to a weaker-than-expected jobs report in which the economy added just 57,000 jobs.

Elizabeth Blau is largely credited with transforming the Las Vegas restaurant scene, turning the city into a world-class dining destination. But she claims it was a combination of luck, connections, ambition, and opportunity that led her to Steve Wynn and her development of the Bellagio restaurants.

Las vegas dining scene

Steve’s wife, Elaine, was also an influential mentor and “second mom,” showing her the importance of women’s leadership and philanthropy. Now Blau runs her own restaurant development company with her husband, Chef Kim Canteenwalla. Read all about her latest projects and how she’s paying it forward.