When was potbellys established

The neighborhood hangout features toasty warm sandwiches, hand-dipped milkshakes and live, local music. Potbelly has earned a reputation in communities across the U. Louis-area with partners Lawrence and Monica Boveri.

Todd and Angie dreamed of owning their own business and were thrilled when Potbelly first began franchising. The Stimsons and the Boveris opened their first shop in and have continued to expand, now opening the fourth location in St.

Charles community. Potbelly Sandwich Shop first opened in Chicago in , and now includes more than shops across the U. Nowadays, everyone has a secret menu. But while plenty of places just add an extra pepper and call it a day, Potbelly isn't messing around. Their menu has two shakes, a sundae, an ice cream sandwich, and 11 dreamy sandwiches.

One of them is obviously the Elvis, but other picks include the Chicken Cordon Bleu, the Cheeseburger, and the Lucky 7 -- which is a Wreck and an Italian, united in holy, meaty matrimony. Subway likes to call their workers "sandwich artists", but only Potbelly employees truly live up to that title. While this illustrated advice for a Father to-be is pretty solid work, we're especially taken with this masterpiece, which improbably combines Harry Potter with the resident Rugrats ginger. One of the ways Potbelly has maintained its neighborhood sandwich shop cred over the years is by welcoming local performers to play sets during lunchtime.

Their current directory of musicians is kinda staggering, and while no one's become the new Billboard sensation yet, it's only a matter of time before Simon Cowell goes scouting during an important Pizza Sandwich run.

Well, they at least pick up lunch for their staff there! Joe Biden stopped by a DC location last January for some sandwiches, specifically shouting out the meatball with provolone. He didn't wear aviators while placing the order, though, so we guess those are just for ice cream breaks. Potbelly's pledge is to get you through the line in eight minutes flat.

That's pretty excellent sandwich service, and gives us an idea: could the Potbelly's brass please share their secrets with the Krampuses who run the DMV? Just as no two Potbelly locations sound the same, no two look exactly the same, either. There's a whole Potbelly team tasked with searching each location's local art and artifact scene and then using their finds to decorate each store, Mental Floss reports.

Potbelly isn't the only brand that employs this technique to create a mom-and-pop atmosphere though — you may have noticed the same thing at your closest Trader Joe's via Advocate Magazine.

Next time you're waiting for your Potbelly sandwich for no more than eight minutes, as the company promises , look beyond the vintage stove and see what neighborhood relics you might find. Maybe the first thing that charmed you about Potbelly was the flower-shaped shortbread cookie placed on every milkshake straw.

Did you know you can buy those? They're available in ounce bags on the Potbelly Pantry web page. Or perhaps it was the selection of Zapp's potato chips or the decorative jars of oversize condiments behind the counter. Whatever the reason, Potbelly has an undeniable eye for detail, and there's one particular tidbit that you may not have caught.

Each Potbelly store hides secret handwritten messages , and they're not so elaborate: A simple "P" for pigs and "H" for hogs stand for the saying, "Pigs get fat, and hogs get slaughtered," Keil explained to the Chicago Tribune.

The adage serves as a reminder for employees not "to cheat a customer" by skimping on serving sizes or serving a day-old cookie, Keil said. Customers will also complete their order and payment first, so they can relax and watch as their sandwiches come out of the oven, Johnson said.

A second redesigned location will open later this year in Park Ridge, Illinois. As far as the new look, Johnson said it pairs the chain's comfortable booth with wood and natural elements to create a more modern aesthetic. In addition to working on the customer experience and overall look of Potbelly stores, the brand has also been focused on delivery through several partners, including Grubhub and DoorDash, in addition to Potbelly. It's also debuted a Pick-your-Pair menu, which allows consumers to pair a toasty Potbelly signature sandwich with soup or salad.

She has been covering the restaurant industry since