Charley's Grilled Subs
Private | |
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | 1986 |
Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
Key people | Charley Shin |
Website | charleys.com |
Charleys Philly Steaks is an American restaurant chain of submarine sandwich stores headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.[1] Formerly known as Charley's Steakery, the franchise was established in 1986 on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and is still headquartered there. There are 500 locations in 46 states and Puerto Rico in the United States and in 16 other countries, including Canada, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Germany, Guam, Italy, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mauritius, Panama, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The Charley's brand markets itself as being "built on the essence of Brotherly Love, while honoring God and strengthening neighbors".[2] The brand is focused on providing hot food, prepared in front of the customer.
The restaurant features sandwiches such as the Philly Cheesesteak, Chicken Teriyaki, Buffalo Chicken, and recently offered the Chicken Chipotle, Spicy Asian BBQ, South Philly and the Southwest Chicken sandwiches during limited time offers. Charley's also serves salads, fries, and lemonade.
Charleys Philly Steaks locations have traditionally been found in malls, airports and military installations across the United States. Now, the chain is refocusing on strip center and free-standing locations.[3]
History
While studying real estate at Ohio State University, Charley Shin worked in his mother’s Japanese/Korean restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. A wrong turn on a family trip to New York City resulted in Charley’s discovery of the Philly steak sub. Charley convinced his mother to take a break, sell the restaurant, and invest in “Charley’s,” a 450-square-foot (42 m2) restaurant across the street from Ohio State's campus. Charley’s first decision in the restaurant was to turn the grill around to face the customers, so they could always see their food being cooked, a move that would later become the trademark of the Charley’s Grilled Subs chain.[3]
Menu
Charley's features grilled subs, gourmet fries and natural lemonade. Fries can be topped with cheddar cheese sauce, ranch dressing and/or bacon. The original lemonade is accompanied by a rotating seasonal selection, including kiwi, strawberry, raspberry and others.
References
- Footnotes
- ↑ "Contact Us Archived May 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.." Charley's Grilled Subs. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
- ↑ Charley's Grilled Subs
- 1 2 Fast Casual Charley's Grilled Subs August 27, 2007
- General sources
- Johnson-Elie, Tannette (2006-12-05). "Mixing kindness with business". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Naylor, June (2004-02-20). "Charlie's is hot on the grill (free preview)". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Chan, Candy Kit Har (1994-11-25). "Steaking His Claim: Crafty Charley Shin Proves Fast Food, Franchising". AsianWeek.