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Shore-based sub sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s is No. 30 on the QSR50–QSR Magazine’s top 50 list of fast food chains nationwide, released Aug. 1.

Many list makers have a presence in the Garden State: New Jersey has more than 800 Dunkin’ locations, No. 7 on the list; and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, No. 46 on the list, just opened its first New Jersey location in July.

But Jersey Mike’s is the only one headquartered here.

“Earlier in 2020, Jersey Mike’s pledged to pay for all franchisees’ upcoming retrofits—at $75,000 per store, roughly a $150 million investment in its system,” QSR Magazine’s Danny Klein wrote. “The company also introduced the Coach Rod Smith Ownership Program; named after founder and CEO Peter Cancro’s youth football coach (and a local bank executive) who gave him a $125,000 loan to purchase Mike’s Subs, the program gives managers throughout the Jersey Mike’s system an opportunity to become store owners with financial and training support.”

“This commitment to franchisees, along with investments in everything from small-box catering to a vastly improved app, helped the sandwich chain put together another robust growth year,” Klein wrote.

According to data shared by QSR Magazine, Jersey Mike’s had $1,595,000,000 in sales systemwide in 2020 across 1,842 franchised units and 14 corporate stores. There were 189 more Jersey Mike’s locations in 2020 than 2019, beaten only by Starbucks and Domino’s in its growth of physical stores.

The sub chain has made the QSR50 several years running. It’s up one spot this year from 2020 when it was No. 31 on the list.

On nabbing a spot on the list, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems Inc. President Hoyt Jones said, “Decisions we made well before 2020 related to technology, packaging, retrofits and more positioned us positively during the last year. We look forward to continuing to share Jersey Mike’s authentic sub sandwich across the country.”

Jersey Mike’s will open its 2,000th location this fall and thereafter has another 1,000 stores in the pipeline, Jones said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1:13 p.m. EST on Aug. 2, 2021, to include remarks from Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems Inc. President Hoyt Jones.