Potbelly Sandwich Works Franchise Overview

About Potbelly Sandwich Works

Potbelly Corporation is a neighborhood sandwich concept that has been feeding customers’ smiles with warm, toasty sandwiches, signature salads, hand-dipped shakes and other fresh menu items, customized just the way customers want them, for 45 years. Potbelly promises Fresh, Fast & Friendly service in an environment that reflects the local neighborhood. Since opening its first shop in Chicago in 1977, Potbelly has expanded to neighborhoods across the country, with more than 400 company-owned shops in the United States and 40 of those being owned by franchisees.

Franchise History

The brand’s heritage is a testament to neighborhood connections. Potbelly started in the unlikeliest of ways – at a mom-and-pop antique store in Chicago. The Lincoln Park community fixture refurbished potbelly stoves and as a way to more closely engage with its neighbors, the store’s owner, Peter Hastings, began selling sandwiches to customers. 

The sandwiches quickly became a hit and soon there were lines of people out the door waiting to get their favorite sandwich. Firmly established as the neighborhood go-to spot, Potbelly flourished, and it began to amass a significant fan base. In 1996, Hastings sold Potbelly to one of its regulars, Bryant Keil, who believed everyone should be able to enjoy Potbelly and had a vision to grow the brand throughout Chicago, into the area’s suburbs and beyond.

This web page does not constitute a franchise offering or an offer to sell a franchise. A franchise offering can be made by us only in a state if we are first registered, excluded, exempted or otherwise qualified to offer franchises in that state, and only if we provide you with an appropriate franchise disclosure document.