It sometimes takes a whole community to find a Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich store.
There are people who do not know what a Jimmy John's is. But Jimmy John's sandwiches traditionally have been a college town staple - one of the four basic food groups, along with pizza, burgers and beer. And some people use Jimmy John's as their bread store, opting to buy the small French loaves as a healthy alternative to cheese curls.
Jimmy John's began in 1983 on the Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston, Ill., while its founder Jimmy John Liataud was a student there.
By 1994, the chain was targeting college students by using humorous poetry created by Liataud. One ad read, "No zits/ No pits/ No day-old bread/ No grease/ No fries/ Great subs instead."
OK, so it wasn't appetizing poetry.
Employees were taught to make a sandwich in 12 to 15 seconds, and students ordered them by name: Turkey Tom, Vito and Pepe.
A simple classified ad appeared in The Monroe Times from Dec. 11 to Dec. 15, teasing Jimmy John lovers that it was "opening soon in Monroe" and was looking for a general manager.
But call after call to the phone number in the ad was never answered.
Company headquarters in Champaign, Ill., revealed no "Monroe, Wis." on the construction list. Company personnel found a franchise agreement. The owner listed Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street in Monroe as the location, but had submitted no development plans. Neither Monroe Engineering Supervisor Al Gerber nor Director of Public Works Kelly Finkenbinder knew of any new building sites in town. This was, indeed, sad news.
More desperate calls were made to the phone number in the ad in an attempt to talk to anyone, even if they sounded like Humphrey Bogart, who would explain the teasing ad.
Finkenbinder suggested the new store might take up a spot in the Pick 'N Save strip, or there may come a shift in stores as Wal-Mart or Menards build.
A shift in stores was too far in the future to be satisfying. But who owned the Pick 'N Save strip? The city assessor had only the name and address of a firm in Wausau - with a company headquarters in New York, that may be the owners but not the managers. Not a good sign.
Pick 'N Save's manager couldn't remember who managed the strip - it had recently changed, he thought. But he suggested asking a local landscaping company which plows snow on the lot. But they didn't get back soon enough. A worker at the dialysis center in the strip knew one unit was vacant, but didn't know who managed the property.
A slow drive-by captured a Madison phone number connected with the company that leases the unit.
"We have a lease out for signature, a franchise, new to the market," said the vice-president of the company, who wouldn't reveal the potential occupant. "It will probably open in May or June." Still a long time to wait for a Jimmy John's delivery.
But finally, around 4:45 last night, the craving to know if Jimmy John's was coming to Monroe was satisfied. Wes Banks, the franchise owner, returned a call and confirmed the restaurant will move into the Pick 'N Save strip.
"Hopefully," he said, "we will be open by the beginning of March - hopefully."
Banks is waiting for an architect to finish plans for the interior, and he has six to seven resumes to go through.
Banks is the owner of a Jimmy John's in Freeport, which has been open about 16 months.
"It's going real good," he said. "Good enough to open up another."
Banks said he was approached about putting his second Jimmy John's in Dixon, Ill., but decided to go to Monroe.
"I like the small-town atmosphere," he said. "It seems like a tight-knit community."
- Tere Dunlap is a reporter for The Monroe Times. She can be reached at tdunlap@themonroetimes.com
There are people who do not know what a Jimmy John's is. But Jimmy John's sandwiches traditionally have been a college town staple - one of the four basic food groups, along with pizza, burgers and beer. And some people use Jimmy John's as their bread store, opting to buy the small French loaves as a healthy alternative to cheese curls.
Jimmy John's began in 1983 on the Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston, Ill., while its founder Jimmy John Liataud was a student there.
By 1994, the chain was targeting college students by using humorous poetry created by Liataud. One ad read, "No zits/ No pits/ No day-old bread/ No grease/ No fries/ Great subs instead."
OK, so it wasn't appetizing poetry.
Employees were taught to make a sandwich in 12 to 15 seconds, and students ordered them by name: Turkey Tom, Vito and Pepe.
A simple classified ad appeared in The Monroe Times from Dec. 11 to Dec. 15, teasing Jimmy John lovers that it was "opening soon in Monroe" and was looking for a general manager.
But call after call to the phone number in the ad was never answered.
Company headquarters in Champaign, Ill., revealed no "Monroe, Wis." on the construction list. Company personnel found a franchise agreement. The owner listed Seventh Avenue and Eighth Street in Monroe as the location, but had submitted no development plans. Neither Monroe Engineering Supervisor Al Gerber nor Director of Public Works Kelly Finkenbinder knew of any new building sites in town. This was, indeed, sad news.
More desperate calls were made to the phone number in the ad in an attempt to talk to anyone, even if they sounded like Humphrey Bogart, who would explain the teasing ad.
Finkenbinder suggested the new store might take up a spot in the Pick 'N Save strip, or there may come a shift in stores as Wal-Mart or Menards build.
A shift in stores was too far in the future to be satisfying. But who owned the Pick 'N Save strip? The city assessor had only the name and address of a firm in Wausau - with a company headquarters in New York, that may be the owners but not the managers. Not a good sign.
Pick 'N Save's manager couldn't remember who managed the strip - it had recently changed, he thought. But he suggested asking a local landscaping company which plows snow on the lot. But they didn't get back soon enough. A worker at the dialysis center in the strip knew one unit was vacant, but didn't know who managed the property.
A slow drive-by captured a Madison phone number connected with the company that leases the unit.
"We have a lease out for signature, a franchise, new to the market," said the vice-president of the company, who wouldn't reveal the potential occupant. "It will probably open in May or June." Still a long time to wait for a Jimmy John's delivery.
But finally, around 4:45 last night, the craving to know if Jimmy John's was coming to Monroe was satisfied. Wes Banks, the franchise owner, returned a call and confirmed the restaurant will move into the Pick 'N Save strip.
"Hopefully," he said, "we will be open by the beginning of March - hopefully."
Banks is waiting for an architect to finish plans for the interior, and he has six to seven resumes to go through.
Banks is the owner of a Jimmy John's in Freeport, which has been open about 16 months.
"It's going real good," he said. "Good enough to open up another."
Banks said he was approached about putting his second Jimmy John's in Dixon, Ill., but decided to go to Monroe.
"I like the small-town atmosphere," he said. "It seems like a tight-knit community."
- Tere Dunlap is a reporter for The Monroe Times. She can be reached at tdunlap@themonroetimes.com