11/10/2024
My last Jimmie's Hoagie.
Jimmie's is closed permanently.
We came to the tough decision that Saturday Nov 9th was our last day.
As many of you know this is the second time we have opened Jimmie's and thought this time would be different. We added cheesesteak to rave reviews. We had some great customers and employees and are proud of the food we made.
Unfortunately great food wasn't enough to keep Jimmie's going.
For those of you who supported I know you'll want to know why.
Many of you may not know this is the second time we have opened Jimmie's.
The Jimmie's space was ment to be a brewery way back in 2018. The township didn't agree So it sat empty for years becoming a storage room. As Covid raged in 2020 we were looking for ways to increase revenue and maximize the space we were paying rent for. That space had limitations and we were limited on funds. A little hoagie shop seemed like a good idea. Not a lot of equipment needed, or staff, or a big menu, carryout and delivery only. Additionally we were hearing from a lot of people there weren't enough places to get a great Philly Hoagie in Lancaster.
We aimed for an April 2021 opening. It was delayed to September. The delay in opening seemed to be a big hindrance. By the time we opened people wanted to be in restaurants again and not having seating was an issue. We also thought catering would be a big opportunity but people were still working remote and catering never took off. We struggled with staffing, even closing a few times. Finally in March of 2022 We had the opportunity to open a second restaurant in Reading, Louie's Kitchen and Bar. With too many plates to spin, we closed Jimmie's in April of 2022. Always. thinking we would reopen with a different strategy.
In 2024 we wanted to work on an event space. Gracie's gets a lot of calls for baby showers, bridal showers and events for Saturday and Sunday brunch time. We just couldn’t accommodate these because of how busy we are. We do have a full second floor at that isn't being used. Our thoughts were let’s convert it into an event space for those groups. The issue was who was going to cook the food. Enter a return of Jimmie's
Things didn't go as planned. There are a bunch of reasons, most come down to the fact that having a restaurant next to Gracie’s is hard. Gracie's is big, busy, and demands attention! We also had record years in 2024 for both Louie's and Gracie's and thought there was a chance that 2024 wouldn't continue to on record pace. We were wrong. both are experiencing large growth. I'm sure we realized that back in 2021/22 but this how hard it is being next to Gracie's but in 2024 was overwhelming.
We've had great people work for us, we've made great sandwiches and cheesesteaks. I'm proud of the staff and what we have done there. The Cheesesteaks can still be found at Louie's. We will continue to look at the upstairs space and bring it into the fold with Gracie's. Maybe additional seating for the busy weekends? We want to thank all of you for all your support of Jimmie's.