Jason’s Deli vs. Jersey Mike’s Subs
Bernadine A. Mitchell
COMM-155
May 12, 2013
Instructor: Martha Johnson

Jason’s Deli and Jersey Mike’s Subs are fast-food restaurants that offer similar menu choices, but have different amenities and environment. Jason's Deli was founded in Beaumont, Texas in 1976 by Joe Tortorice Jr., and the company currently has approximately 230 U.S. locations in 28 states.[i] Jersey Mike's Subs is a submarine sandwich, or "sub", chain headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey. The Jersey Mike's franchise has more than 600 stores across the United States.[ii] Both restaurants have superior submarine sandwiches and wraps. Jason’s Deli, however, was the first major restaurant to ban artificial trans fats and eliminate high fructose corn syrup in the U.S., providing menu choices to create healthier meals. Although both Jason’s Deli and Jersey Mike’s Subs provide an online menu for convenience and ease of ordering before you leave the house, there are distinct differences in their presentation. Jersey Mike’s Subs only provide a selection of subs and wraps, and a very limited Kid’s menu. At Jersey Mike's, Italian meats are emphasized, but American meats and cheeses are also provided. Jersey Mike’s Kid’s menu only consist of three items of ham & cheese, turkey & cheese, salami & cheese on a submarine roll, along with a drink and a cookie. Jason’s Deli also provide a variety of meats, and has a selection of four types of menu choices. The menu choices Jason’s Deli’s offer are deli, catering, gluten sensitive, and vegetarian. All of Jason’s Deli’s menu choices, except catering, also carry a Kid’s menu. The Kid’s menu of Jason’s Deli also has the ham & cheese and the turkey & cheese, but it is placed in a wrap instead of the submarine roll.

Jason’s Deli’s Kid’s menu is proactive by assisting you in preventing juvenile diabetes and obesity, providing the calorie count of each meal item online, as well as the hard copy of their menu. There are twelve items on the Kid’s menu of Jason’s Deli to include a salad bar, pizza, pasta, four vegetarian meal choices, and the most popular of all, peanut butter and jelly.
Pricing is comparable between Jason’s Deli and Jersey Mike’s Subs. The difference in the two is it is easier to make choices on Jason’s Deli online menu, because you can see the prices as you are planning your order. On Jersey Mike’s Subs menu, you will have to begin your order before viewing the prices. The convenience of ordering and the amenities offered by Jason’s Deli and Jersey Mike’s Subs are quite different from one another. When ordering online or by telephone, Jason’s Deli offer delivery service, as well as pick-up service, and when ordering from Jersey Mike’s Subs, you can only order for pick-up service. Although both offer service for dining in, Jason’s Deli has incorporated a family style restaurant, with a separate entrance, with table side service and big screen televisions. Jersey’s Mike’s Subs dine-in service is styled in the manner of your typical fast food restaurants, with tables and chairs bolted to the floor, and very bright lighting as is typical of many fast-food restaurants. Also your order is placed at the counter and brought back to your table. Although both fast-food restaurants offer nutritional information about the items on their menus on their websites, Jason’s Deli’s information is easier to obtain. Jersey Mike’s Subs chart is a page made up of each menu item, which are in rows and columns.
As seen figure 3 on the left side of the page, you need to scroll down the page to find the particular menu item, and read across the row to find and add up each nutritional value. Unlike with the software application where you can freeze the rows or columns while you scroll down, you will lose the top row of Jersey Mike’s nutritional chart the further down you scroll. You will also need to have pen and paper available to keep track of your nutritional values. After obtaining the nutritional value desired, you will have to return to the ‘Order Online” web page to place your order. It can be very inconvenient to continually scroll from top to bottom to see which nutritional value numbers you are viewing, write each down, then go to another page to order.
On the other hand, Jason’s Deli has a nutritional calculator on their web site. When you select this calculator, you are taken to a page where you can build your meal. Once you select your meal items, the calculator will continually total up the nutrition values. Jason’s Deli’s Nutritional Calculator page allows you to see the meal you are building, and the nutritional values all on one page. The menu calculator will also list the allergens for each menu item that you select. Once the needed nutritional value is obtained, you can print out the page. Your order list will be neatly printed out to take into the restaurant, placing order online or by telephone. With the hustle and bustle of our daily lives there may be times after a hard day’s work, or on busy weekends, that you may not feel like cooking. It would be nice to dine out and be catered to. If you were given the option of making the decision between going to Jason’s Deli or Jersey Mike’s Subs, and you want to dine in a calming environment, then choose Jason’s Deli. In choosing Jason’s Deli, after a long day you may want to sit back and relax in a low light environment, and have table-side service with a larger variety of meal choices. Even though both restaurants have pick-up service, if you just needed to run in for a thirty minute meal, and because you are under time constraints, then you may also consider patronizing Jersey Mike’s Subs. Jason’s Deli and Jersey Mike’s Subs may have similar pricing in the choices of their sandwiches, but the atmosphere of the two restaurants are quite different. At Jason’s Deli, the atmosphere is more relaxing with low lighting table-side service, and you would have a larger variety of choices to create a healthier meal, while Jersey Mike’s Subs has the atmosphere of your typical fast-food restaurant with bright lights and counter ordering service.

REFERENCES [i] http://www.jasonsdeli.com/
[ii] http://www.jerseymikes.com/