that’s the greatest joy I think we all have as a company,” he said. But with good deeds come great rewards. Cancro paid $175 million a couple of years ago to remod- el all Jersey Mike’s locations, a financial burden almost always borne by franchisees. “Everybody thought I was crazy,” he said. Paying for the remodels, though, allowed the process to be completed swiftly, and the refreshed stores began achiev- ing unit volumes that were about $500,000 higher than their predecessors. Jersey Mike’s thought it might take seven or eight years to re- coup its investment; the chain made its money back on the re- models in two or three years. As the sub chain has built its brand, it has also built an in- house tech operation that just might have legs outside of Jer- sey Mike’s. “We started our IT compa- ny,” Cancro said, adding that the tech offering is more efficient, better and more affordable than third-party options. “Domino’s and Starbucks say they’re IT companies but so do we. We have about 80 to 100 people in the office, a separate entity.” When asked whether that technology arm works with companies besides Jersey Mike’s, Cancro replied: “Not yet, but we will.” Past winners of the Restau- rant Leader of the Year hon- or have included Mark King of Taco Bell, Jose Cil of Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International, Claudia San Pedro of Sonic, Greg Creed of Yum Brands, Brian Niccol of Chipotle, Ron Shaich of Pane- ra Bread, Greg Flynn of the mega-franchise operator Fly- nn Group, and Danny Meyer of Shake Shack and Union Square Hospitality Group.
2024 Restaurant Leader of the Year ‘A natural born leader’ A look back at Jersey Mike’s CEO Peter Cancro’s impact over nearly 50 years in the restaurant industry
https://vimeo.com/932629227
2024 Restaurant Leader of the Year ‘We pull people along’ Peter Cancro talks with Restaurant Business’ Jonathan Maze about supporting franchisees and employees
https://vimeo.com/942129846
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Restaurant Leadership Conference 2024
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