Ever Heard of Lenny's Subs? You Will. Trust Me.

By Robert Wilonsky Wed., Jul. 12 2006 at 5:21 PM

Categories: Dish

At this very moment, there are five Lenny's Sub Shops in the state of Texas, including a location on Jackson Street downtown. How are they? Dunno. Never been. Not the point. The point is, in a market crowded with the likes of Which Wich (the homegrown joint operated by Genghis Grill's Jeff Sinelli) and Chicago-based Potbelly Sandwich Works--not to mention a Subway and Quizno's on every block, and a Blimpie on every other one--Lenny's seems to think Dallas-Fort Worth needs more sandwiches. And by more, I mean 98 more stores in the area. Business Wire, which is essentially a press release clearing house, is "reporting" today that Texas Sandwich Investors, LLC--which is, ironically, "a group of prominent investors" based in Memphis, Tenn., where Lenny's originated--is opening nearly 100 restaurants in 11 North Texas counties, among them Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Rockwall and Tarrant, with the first five running up and down North Central Expresway, twixt here and McKinney, by year's end. Why here? Says Steve Durst, managing director of Texas Sandwich Investors, "People dine out more often in Dallas-Fort Worth than any major market in the country, so the opportunities are endless." And, as Craft owner and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio told Unfair Park two weeks ago, he's also planning to open a 'wichCraft location in Victory Park next year. I am not good at math, but when I add up all those sandwich joints, I get...lessee...98 plus 86 plus 8 plus 11 plus...well, it's a shitload. --Robert Wilonsky