Jimmy John’s is 75
It was just five years ago when Roger Steward and the crew at Jimmy John’s were looking forward to celebrating the iconic hotdog restaurant’s 70th anniversary.
It was a sunny and warm Saturday morning in May, a great day for a celebration. That is until the restaurant on Route 202 in Chadds Ford Township caught on fire shortly before 8:30 a.m. The blaze shut down the restaurant for seven months.
Now, five years later, owner Steward again planned an anniversary celebration in the form of a Customer Appreciation day held Saturday, May 2. This time, restaurant heat stayed where it belongs, in the kitchen cooking hotdogs and fries.
The grim and saddened faces of 2010 were now big smiles as the crew offered 75-cent hotdogs and sodas to hungry customers who came to share the joy and honor those 75 years.
“We’re definitely off to a better start this year,” Steward said amid a crowd of well-wishers.
While he attributes the restaurant’s success to the atmosphere, good food and service he offers, Steward could almost identify with the lyrics of a Beatles tune and say he got by with a little help from friends. Donations from the community helped pay for the repairs that got the restaurant up and running again in a shorter amount of time than anticipated.
“After what we went through five years ago with the fire, and seeing the response from the community, that pretty much sums it up. It’s the people. They’ve come to know this as a landmark. It’s got history. There aren’t many places around anymore where you have history to the building. You walk in here and it’s like stepping back in time,” he said.
While some of the model trains and old photos were destroyed in the fire, there are new trains up and running and some of the old photos still remain thanks to negatives that were kept off site.
And the customers remain, as well.
John Mondick, of Thornbury, Chester County, said he and his family have been coming to Jimmy John’s for 10 years.
It’s the trains, people and the dogs that bring the family back, he said.
“You can’t get dogs like this anywhere else,” Mondick added.
Bill Hoffman, of Chadds Ford Township, has been a Jimmy John’s customer for 30 years. He said the history and tradition of the place is a big attraction.
And while the regulars are important, any business needs new patrons. Some of those new people came on anniversary day.
Andrew, Regina and 2-year-old Carter Haines of Phoenixville came for the hotdogs since Andrew’ Haines’ coworkers have been talking about Jimmy John’s for years.
“All my coworkers say ‘Get their hot dogs,’” he said “So, we went through the traffic to come here.”
What do they think now that they’ve tried a Jimmy John hot dog?
“We’ll be back,” Andrew Haines said. “We’ll absolutely be back.”
Regina Haines pointed to an almost completely devoured dog on young Carter’s plate and said, “He’s really chowin’ down.”
“He likes these better than the ones I cook on the grill,” Andrew said. “I’ve never seen him this excited for hotdogs before.”
Jimmy John’s first opened in 1940. That original owner was Jimmy John. Steward, who began working there in 1975 while in high school, bought the restaurant in 2005.
The 2010 fire was ruled accidental. A state police fire marshal’s report said the fire began in the grill area. Employees called 911 after they were unable to extinguish the blaze.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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