Jimmy John Liautaud

James John Liautaud (born January 12, 1964) is an American restaurateur, who is widely known as the founder and former chairman of Jimmy John's sandwich chain.

Liautaud was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois on January 12, 1964.

His father is James Liautaud, long-term entrepreneur, and his mother is Gina Gudaityte Liautaud.

He was born the second of four siblings, with brothers Greg and Robby Liautaud and a sister Lara Liautaud Berry.

He attended high school at Elgin Academy, a private prep school in Elgin, Illinois, where he became close with and was influenced by the dean, James Lyons.

He studied at Eastern Illinois University, but left after one semester to grow his up-and-coming restaurant business.

After Liautaud graduated from high school in 1982, his father offered him a loan of $25,000 to open a business on the condition that if the business failed, he would enlist in the US Army.

Although his father wanted him to enlist, he agreed to loan the money in exchange for a 48% stake in the business.

Initially Jimmy John wanted to open a hot dog stand, but after visiting numerous such stands throughout the summer of 1982, he realized the $25,000 would not be enough for such a venture.

After a chance encounter at a sandwich shop, Jimmy John realized that he could open a sandwich shop within his available budget by purchasing premium meats at a neighborhood market and baking his own bread.

With the help of his family as tasters, he decided to put four sandwiches on his original menu.

On January 13, 1983 Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches opened in Charleston, Illinois.

Due to the poor location of his first store, Liautaud decided to include delivery of his sandwiches to boost sales.

He began by bringing samples door-to-door to the nearby Eastern Illinois University dorms.

By the end of his first year, the restaurant started making a profit.

At the end of his second year, Liautaud was able to purchase his father's share in the business and he became sole owner.

The business continued to grow, and he was able to open his second and third shops in 1986 and 1987.

In 1988, Liautaud met businessman Jamie Coulter.

At the time, Coulter was a Pizza Hut Franchisee, and later founded and ran Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon and other chains.

Coulter helped Liautaud take his business to the next level.

In 1994 he sold his first Jimmy John's franchise, in addition to the 10 stores owned by Liautaud himself.

By 2002, the company had about 200 stores, 10% of which were corporate stores that Liautaud oversaw himself.

Sales at the stores managed by Liautaud were outpacing the franchised stores by a wide margin.

Together with his partner, and now President & CEO, James North, he visited 70 of the poorest-performing stores.

After 18 months of getting the stores “back to basics” and instilling in them “some of that initial spark”, he was able to help the stores become more profitable.

In January 2007, Liautaud selected Weston Presidio, a private-equity firm, to help acquire better locations for the expanding company.

Weston Presidio bought a 33% stake in the company, and during the first year closed on over 100 real estate deals.

In 2008, Liautaud donated $1 million to his high school, Elgin Academy, on the condition that the building constructed using his donation bear not only his name, but also the name of the man who had been the dean of the school when Liautaud attended: James Lyons.

In 2011, Liautaud and his wife pledged $1 million toward the construction of the new Champaign County YMCA.

In July 2014, Liautaud donated $1 million to the Folds of Honor Foundation, an organization that supports the spouses and children of America's fallen and disabled service-members.

In September 2016, Roark Capital Group agreed to purchase a majority stake in Liautaud's company, as Weston Presidio sold their minority investment after 10 years.

Terms of the transaction were not immediately disclosed, though it was later clarified that Liautaud retained 35% ownership of the company as part of the deal.

As part of the agreement, Liautaud, as the company's founder and largest individual shareholder, continued as chairman of the board.

In 2017, Liautaud and his wife, Leslie, donated $2 million to help Brewster Academy kick off the fundraising for their new residence hall to house 22 students and 4 faculty residences.

In October 2018, Liautaud was included in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people.

In 2018, Forbes estimated Liautaud's documented wealth at $1.7 billion.

In his 2018 book, Dick Portillo of Portillo's Restaurants called Liautaud his "good friend" and relayed that Liautaud tried to buy Portillo's before it was ultimately sold to Berkshire Partners.

In September 2019, Roark's Inspire Brands announced it was acquiring Jimmy John's for an unspecified amount in a deal unanimously approved by Liautaud and the rest of the Jimmy John's Board of Directors.

At the close of the deal, Liautaud said that he will step down as chairman of the company and transition to become an advisor to the brand.

The acquisition was completed on October 18.