Jimmy John Liautaud
Founder & former Chairman, Jimmy John's. On 1 show, 1 appearance. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
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In 1983, Liautaud founded Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches at age 19, eventually expanding the chain to nearly 3,000 locations nationwide. After selling the company to Inspire Brands in 2019, he became an active private investor and philanthropist.
1shows
1appearances
16statements
4resolved
4supported
0contradicted
100%fully supported
Everything Jimmy John Liautaud said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Liautaud: 100% of Political Attacks Originated From Democratic-Aligned Groups
“I learned that every attack and every, every single one came from democratic supported parties, different, different, different, different groups. But it was a hundred percent. Liberal and Democrat people, Soros type stuff.”
Liautaud Claims IRS Audits Began After Supporting Mitt Romney in 2012
“The IRS audit started to happen at that time.”
Liautaud: Chick-fil-A managers make upwards of $500,000 per year
“Chick-fil-A managers make upwards of 500,000 dollars a year.”
Liautaud: Sandwiches cost four or five dollars, not twelve
“And I mean, sandwiches don't cost 12 dollars. I mean, sandwiches are four or five bucks. They're not 12 bucks. And eggs don't cost eight bucks. I mean, they just don't cost that much.”
Liautaud Used a Written Test to Screen Applicants for Stealing
“I had a written test. That would, that was a that you would fill out, and I would grade the test, and if they scored a certain way, it said the chances of this person stealing from you know, is pretty good or not, and it was like a Myers-Briggs, but it was for…”
Liautaud: Jimmy John's stores cost $350K to open, averaged $200K profit
“It was 350,000 open a store. The stores did about 900,000 in sales and the average store made about 200,000 dollars of profit.”
Liautaud: Jimmy John's managers made $80K-$120K with 25% profit share
“We paid the managers a base pay of like, 36 to 42 grand base pay salary, depending on where they were, and we gave them 25% of the profit of the store, so the managers made a lot of money, and they made 80 to 120,000 bucks a year”
Liautaud: Labor Litigation Halted Jimmy John's Business Momentum for Seven Years
“As soon as we got to the real courts, we won it on a summary judgment, but that stopped momentum for like seven years.”
Liautaud Sold Jimmy John's Due to Exhaustion From Political Battles
“And honestly, I just, I sold my business because Joe, I couldn't do, I just was done. I had enough money. I had everything I wanted, but I just couldn't do it anymore.”
Liautaud: Fourteen Sandwich Makers Became Millionaire Department Heads
“14 of 17 department heads at Jimmy John's that became millionaires when I sold through stock, they were all came from the sandwich shop, Joe.”
Liautaud: Opening a Sandwich Shop Today Requires Hundreds of Thousands
“Is he going to be able to take 20,000 bucks and open a sandwich shop? There's no chance. No, no way. I mean, they're first, they're going to need a couple hundred and you're going to need to do a million dollars a year. I mean, you can't make it on 400,000 a y…”
Liautaud Launched Jimmy John's in a Converted Garage With $25,000
“It was a two-door garage that had been converted into a pizza joint that had failed, and I rented it, and it was at Eastern Illinois University, and I had a couple cousins and a brother that was going, that were two cousins there, brother was going there, and …”
Liautaud Sold His Remaining Jimmy John's Stake to Inspire Brands in 2019
“I sold I sold two thirds of the business in 2016. And in 2019, I rolled my retaining 33%, whatever it was, into Inspire Brands, which is Jimmy John's, Dunkin' Donuts, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, and Arby's.”
Liautaud: 70 of Jimmy John's first 200 franchise stores were failing in 2003
“From 93 to oh three, I took my 10 stores to 25, and took the franchise from zero to 200. And that, and this is a story, oh three, I got 200 stores open and 70 are failing.”
Liautaud: Switched from Hot Dogs to Sandwiches Due to Equipment Costs
“Well, my father gave me a budget of 25,000 dollars and I wanted to open a Chicago hot dog stand. And when I found out how much equipment it took to open a hot dog stand with fryers and steam tables and milkshake machines and ovens and hoods and all that, I did…”
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Jimmy's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 AMERICAN OPTIMISTLEDGER | Founder & former Chairman, Jimmy John's | 1 | 16 | 100% 4/4 | full record on American Optimist → |