What Eating At Jersey Mike's In The '50s Was Like

Long before it was a massive sandwich chain worth billions, and even before a 17-year-old employee named Peter Cancro bought it in 1975 and later changed the name to "Jersey Mike's," there was a small sub shop in Point Pleasant on the Jersey Shore where it all began. The sign on the storefront read "Mike's Submarines," but other sources have it as "Mike's Subs" or "Mike's Submarine Sandwich Shop." Whatever they called it, the shop was the spot for locals and tourists alike to get a sub — still something of a novelty then — even though there was no parking lot.

Inside, you would likely have caught the smell of fresh bread and other tempting scents and be greeted by Mike Ingravallo or his wife Marie, the original owners. One poster on the Vintage New Jersey Facebook page, James Pettengill, recalled going there in the 1950s with his father back when you could get a whole sub for 50 cents and a half sub for 35 cents, the equivalent of a little more than $6 and $4 today. No Jersey Mike's ordering trick today could get you a sub that cheap. Back in the early days, besides subs, you could pick up cold cuts to take home. A little later, a pinball machine was added along with a television. It was a far cry from the sleek look of today's Jersey Mike's.

It all began with an Italian immigrant named John Sorrento who moved to New York City in 1922 before later opening his first sub shop in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey. According to a 1979 Asbury Park Press article, Sorrento's oldest daughter, Marie, married Mike Ingravallo and the couple opened up Mike's in 1956. This became the second of 13 sub shops owned by the extended family. The Ingravallos later sold the shop to Edmund Navickas. In 1971, Peter Cancro, then 14, began working at Mike's, which by then was owned by brothers Victor and Frank Merlo.

It was Cancro, who at just 17 with a $125,000 loan from his former football coach, bought the sub shop from the Merlos in 1975 and began to build the brand. In 1987, Cancro added "Jersey" to the name and the outline of the state of New Jersey to the logo, and began franchising. Following a few missteps, Cancro successfully grew the business. Today, there are more than 3,300 Jersey Mike locations with more slated to open. In 2025, Cancro sold the company for $8 billion to the private equity giant Blackstone, which also owns 7 Brew Coffee, among other assets. So while you may not be able to get a 50 cent sub or buy your cold cuts there, Jersey Mike's DNA is 100% 1950s Jersey Shore.