All the way from the shores of New Jersey to the shores of Liberty Bay comes Jersey Mike’s Subs.

Jersey Mike’s began as a mom & pop sub shop in 1956. In 1971 the place was sold to Peter Cancro, a 17-year-old kid that had been working in the shop for three years. Cancro began to expand the shop locally, and by 1987 it had grown into a franchise, which today has over 2,000 locations across the country with its newest location in Poulsbo along highway 305.

The Poulsbo location kicked off its opening week with a promotion card that allowed folks who donated $2 or more to North Kitsap High School to get a free sub.

“What happens with Jersey Mike’s is anytime we open up a store, we pick a charity or any kind of donation. Generally, athletic clubs are really good to partner with, so since North Kitsap is literally right around the block from us, that’s who we decided to go with,” General Manager Angela Coleman said.

In its opening week, Feb. 5 through Feb. 9, the shop raised over $5,000 for NKHS and had a total of 1,825 customers averaging out to about 350-400 customers each day, with it’s the busiest day being Saturday, Feb. 8.

“It’s been busy non-stop. It’s getting busier each day. [Customers] have gone through most of their coupons and they’re still coming back. I don’t see it dying down too much for a little while” Coleman said.

“Pretty much everything [has gone well]. We love the anticipation that was building up to the opening, all the customers have been super friendly, it’s actually been a pretty great experience,” Coleman said.

A hallmark of Jersey Mike’s is the interactions between its employees and customers. According to the history of the franchise, it was those interactions that drove Cancro to purchase the original shop in 1971 and encourage all employees to maintain that level of service and report with each of their customers.