Speaker 1: Today is Giving Tuesday. It's an annual day of giving
Speaker 1: or showing up for an issue that we care about.
Speaker 1: So in light of that, we had an exclusive interview
Speaker 1: with the leaders of Jersey Mike Subs and Best Buddies
Speaker 1: International about their partnership to hire people with intellectual and
Speaker 1: developmental disabilities in each of Jersey Mike's nearly three thousand stores.
Speaker 2: Take a listen, and I think people are starving for community,
Speaker 2: and I think Best Buddies offered such a great community
Speaker 2: of caring, community of giving, community of support. And I think,
Speaker 2: you know, with Peter and Jersey Mikes and the support
Speaker 2: we get from Corporate America International companies, it's a great
Speaker 2: combination because jobs, job opportunities for people intellectual disabilities are
Speaker 2: so sought after and so necessary since the unemployment rates
Speaker 2: eighty five percent, and making people intellectual disabilities feel like
Speaker 2: they're part of a corporate culture, and a corporate culture
Speaker 2: that gives and cares and recognizes that, as I keep
Speaker 2: saying to Peter, you can make a lot of money
Speaker 2: and do good at the same time. And I think
Speaker 2: a lot of corporations don't really recognize that and understand
Speaker 2: that you can really be profitable and really do good.
Speaker 3: Go together and.
Speaker 4: Peter, I mean you're involvement with Best Buddies there's relatively new.
Speaker 4: But your involvement in giving and dealing with some of
Speaker 4: the issues that Anthony just talked about, you've been doing
Speaker 4: that for years.
Speaker 5: Yeah. So first got involved in nineteen seventy five, believe
Speaker 5: it or not, so watching Bob Hoffman and Jack Baker,
Speaker 5: local business guys gave to the community, to the First
Speaker 5: Aid to the Kids programs, and I said, that's what
Speaker 5: we're going to do. So we always gave from the
Speaker 5: hearts and that's our mission statement. We have all of
Speaker 5: our owners that get involved as well. But Best Buddies,
Speaker 5: I mean so great. Every store has about fifteen employees,
Speaker 5: small team, and when the Best Buddy joins become part
Speaker 5: of that family in the community that they serve, it's
Speaker 5: really just a magic, magic touch.
Speaker 1: Anthony mentioned that you can make a lot of money
Speaker 1: and do good at the same time. I know that
Speaker 1: you recently had a fundraising Bonanza Week where you raised
Speaker 1: a lot of money and also brought in a lot
Speaker 1: of sales. Can you talk us through some of the numbers?
Speaker 5: Sure? Sure, So we went with the campaign during election
Speaker 5: week and even Tuesday we're on major news networks running
Speaker 5: the ads and then the college football game of the week.
Speaker 5: Our whole media plan was geared towards Best Buddies, and
Speaker 5: I think the whole nation came out. And usually we
Speaker 5: raise about four million on the special weekend programs that
Speaker 5: we do, but this weekend we raise what five point
Speaker 5: three million, So incredible turnout, incredible success for the cause
Speaker 5: and Anthony.
Speaker 1: The program allows for Best Buddies to work in Jersey
Speaker 1: Mikes stores. The idea is to have at least one
Speaker 1: Best Buddy in every one of Jersey Mikes three thousand,
Speaker 1: almost three thousand stores. What's been the feedback from those
Speaker 1: who are working there.
Speaker 2: I mean it's huge, right, I mean it's a game
Speaker 2: changer for us. I mean I've been at this thirty
Speaker 2: five years. I think you know, my mother would wouldn't
Speaker 2: believe that this was happening when she started Special within
Speaker 2: the sixties. That you know, a corporate leader like this
Speaker 2: commits that kind of money, that kind of creativity, and
Speaker 2: commits to that number of jobs. There's no company in
Speaker 2: the world that has committed three thousand jobs in the
Speaker 2: history of this operation ever. Ever, so it's a really
Speaker 2: huge monumental step in the right direction for the employment
Speaker 2: of people intellectual disabilities and really making them feel like
Speaker 2: they count and they matter and they have a seat
Speaker 2: at the table.
Speaker 4: I do want to talk a little bit about your
Speaker 4: origin story, because it's just kind of the whole creation
Speaker 4: of Jersey Mike's is kind of like it's like a
Speaker 4: Hollywood movie. You know, you're basically a teenager who somehow
Speaker 4: to pull together one hundred and twenty five grand or
Speaker 4: whatever it was. You buy a local submarine shop, you
Speaker 4: turn it into this big franchise, and you just recently
Speaker 4: sold it off the Blackstone for a good chunk of money.
Speaker 5: Now so I heard and billions.
Speaker 3: And it's I mean, everyone watching this and watching the
Speaker 3: trajectory of your career, I think would want to model themselves,
Speaker 3: not just because of the success and the money that
Speaker 3: you made, but also to what I think what Anthony
Speaker 3: is getting to is the ethos and the culture of
Speaker 3: getting that sort of helped to fuel that.
Speaker 5: I think a lot of people so they come into
Speaker 5: the stores and they say, hey, we hear what you're
Speaker 5: doing for the community, for the kids, and that's why
Speaker 5: we're here, And oh yeah, your subs are good. It's
Speaker 5: almost secondary and it's kind of funny, but it's something
Speaker 5: that we've always done and all the owners really get
Speaker 5: it and they're all engaged in it. So that's what's
Speaker 5: so great. So it was a football coach of mine,
Speaker 5: youth football coach that was a banker, and on a
Speaker 5: Sunday night I went in and said, hey, you know,
Speaker 5: he said, I think we can do something, and he
Speaker 5: did so seventeen in high school, took over, went to
Speaker 5: homeroom history class and skipped Jim and a few other classes,
Speaker 5: but they finally did graduate me and then just work
Speaker 5: the business. So I call it fifty years overnight success.
Speaker 5: This March will be fifty years wow. So it a
Speaker 5: slow climb from really the last decade, you know with
Speaker 5: the media and the marketing, but the giving has been
Speaker 5: just NonStop talk about.
Speaker 1: The managerial and industry specific support you anticipate from this
Speaker 1: partnership with Blackstone, and how you're going to keep that
Speaker 1: corporate culture, which includes partnerships with best buddies intact.
Speaker 5: Well, they get the corporate culture, they see it, they
Speaker 5: understand it, and absolutely will continue with it. They see
Speaker 5: that it's part of our huge success that we've had,
Speaker 5: that people accept us in every community we go in
Speaker 5: and it just really takes off. The brand now is
Speaker 5: so strong. But them coming in and getting involved great
Speaker 5: international possibilities. We're close to an announcement with London, England,
Speaker 5: United Kingdom maybe in a month or so. We started
Speaker 5: in Canada outside Toronto, so the expansion looks great. Of
Speaker 5: course the US we have a long way to go
Speaker 5: as well.
Speaker 1: I got to ask one more final question about the
Speaker 1: path forward for Jersey Lakes now that this Blackstone deal
Speaker 1: has been announced. You're known for being a very hands
Speaker 1: on owner your franchises. How do you anticipate that involving
Speaker 1: with Blackstone's partnership.
Speaker 5: Well, January, I go start January, February March, go to
Speaker 5: thirty five cities across the country to make sure we
Speaker 5: have a great transition, to answer questions, to get in
Speaker 5: front of managers assistant managers. So that will continue very strongly.
Speaker 5: And also in England. I'm going to be driving sites
Speaker 5: with the owners and you know, I love that part
Speaker 5: of it, just being involved and of course still slicing
Speaker 5: the subs. I'm still the fastest slicer.
Speaker 4: Peter Kancrow there of course, the billionaire founder of Jersey
Speaker 4: Mike Subtz, alongside Anthony Kennedy Shriver of Best Buddies, talking
Speaker 4: not only about his business, but more importantly Scarlett obviously
Speaker 4: some of the charitable work that he tries to sort
Speaker 4: of facilitate through his business with reguards of Best Buddies
Speaker 4: and dealing with people with the intellectual and development disabilities,
Speaker 4: a great, great project,