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Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shops named to 'Fast Casual's' Top 100 Mover & Shakers nationwide

Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop opened Jan. 24 as part of Phase 1 of the 260,000-square-foot Vineyard Towne Center in Queen Creek. It marked the company's sixth Valley location. At 1,600 square feet, the Queen Creek restaurant is the company's largest to date in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Queen Creek Sun Times Staff

Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop, which is headquartered in Scottsdale and has locations in Queen Creek, Chandler, Scottsdale, Laveen and Surprise, has been named among the Top 100 Movers & Shakers in the United States by Fast Casual.

In its 18th year, the Top 100 recognizes the top 75 brands as well as 25 executives leading the fast casual restaurant industry, recognizing growth and sales accomplishments and honoring menu trendsetters as well as brands incorporating technology to enhance the customer experience. Mr. Pickle’s, which will expand to Los Angeles this summer and is now offering franchise opportunities nationwide, came in at No. 66.

Since 1995, Mr. Pickle’s has been a premier sandwich shop specializing in innovative and craveworthy sandwiches and catering. During its first three decades, thanks to its community culture, incredible recipes, and all its fans, the brand grew from one to more than 50 locations across northern California.

In recent years, longtime Arizona resident and restaurateur Michael Nelson purchased the brand when its original owners announced plans to retire, moving the operations to Arizona and swiftly opening locations across Maricopa County over the past 18 months while updating processes for current franchisees across California.

According to the Top 100 ranking, over the past three years, Nelson has increased same-store sales by 62%. In 2023, Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop added seven units, representing an annual increase of 13%. It also a major investment in its entire tech stack and worked through Paytronix dispatch platform. A substantial percentage of its 2023 growth came through this avenue, which provided a better value to customers and a more profitable transaction for franchisees vs. third-party delivery.

The brand is poised for more growth in 2024 after bringing two wholly new sandwiches to the menu in recent months in the Goomba and the Mama Mia. Italian for friend or confidant, the Goomba features capicola and pepperoni – new proteins for the brand across all of its locations – as well as salami, ham, red onion, pepperoncini, pickles, red wine vinegar, tomatoes and lettuce. It can also be transformed into a perfect chopped salad with the works and a choice of dressings, to boot. The Mama Mia is Mr. Pickle’s spicy twist on a traditional meatball sandwich that pairs warm meatballs with capicola, melty pepper jack cheese, pepperoni and jalapenos.

“We also just enhanced our bread, adding new craveable roles to our expansive carb-lover section of the menu,” said Nelson. “We are proud to be partnering with a premier brand out of San Francisco whose mother dough dates back more than 150 years to make these ultra-specialty rolls, as well as our new sliced sourdough, custom to us.”

Beyond this, acknowledging that Mr. Pickle’s has throngs of avid fans with custom orders whose popularity has spread over the years, today the brand is also launching its “Not-So-Secret Secret Menu” to sandwich lovers everywhere. Available as part of Mr. Pickle’s delivery program, the menu ­– accessible when clicking to create an order online or through Door Dash – boasts more than half a dozen items.

“Of course, all of our restaurants nationwide will be in the know about these sandwiches as well, so although not explicitly advertised in-store, if guests order any of them in person, we’ve got them covered,” said Nelson.

For more information about the brand or franchise opportunities, visit mrpickles.com.