Question of the Day - 08 October 2022

With 40 locations in southern Nevada, it would certainly appear that Capriotti's is a Las Vegas-based company and, in fact, it is. Its national headquarters is on S. Durango near W. Patrick Lane in the southwestern valley.

But no, it wasn't founded here. That took place in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1976, when a brother-sister tandem opened a sandwich shop named after their grandfather, Philip Capriotti. It took a bit for the brand to catch on, but 12 years later, the second shop opened in New Castle, an exurb of Wilmington across the Delaware River from New Jersey. Only three years later, Capriotti's started its franchising business. 

Two years later, in 1993, two long-time friends with high-paying jobs opened the first Capriotti's in Las Vegas after determining that an investment in a sandwich shop would return more than their other investments. In 2008, the two, along with a group of Las Vegans, bought 95% of the company, which had three dozen stores at the time and, within about a year, had expanded to 44. Starting in 2010 Entrepreneur magazine placed it on its list of the country's best 500 franchises. Today, Capriotti's has 115 stores in 27 states.

The Bobbie, named after the founding brother and sister's aunt, is the signature sandwich: roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayonnaise. Each location roasts turkeys for 12 hours nightly and Capriotti's claims to be the largest buyer of whole turkeys in the country. The cheesecake and the "Capastrami" are also deservedly popular, as are the meatballs and coleslaw, with each shop makes from scratch.

The franchise fee is $30,000, but by the time the store is open, upwards of a half-million dollars have been spent. Franchisees pull in an average of $1.3 million per year. The owners of Capriotti's also operate another national chain, Wing Zone, with more than 60 locations nationwide.