US sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s will open its first UK restaurant on Argyll Street, near Oxford Circus in London, in late autumn 2026, marking the brand’s European debut. The opening follows a franchise agreement announced in January 2026 committing to 400 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, with three further central London sites already planned to follow.
Jersey Mike’s, which operates more than 3,300 sites across North America, is entering the UK and Ireland through a franchise agreement with JM Submarines UK, led by the brand’s founder and chairman, Peter Cancro. The agreement, announced in January 2026, commits to 400 restaurants across both markets, though the company has not published a timeframe for reaching that total or confirmed the ownership structure of individual sites beyond the Argyll Street opening.
A 400-restaurant franchise commitment
The franchise agreement covering the UK and Ireland was announced in January 2026, ahead of any confirmed opening. It sets out a target of 400 restaurants but the brand has not published individual franchise fees, investment ranges or a site-by-site rollout schedule, so the figure should be read as the franchisor’s own stated ambition rather than a confirmed build programme. Jersey Mike’s has separately signalled wider international growth plans, including a possible stock market listing in the United States, where the chain has grown to more than 3,300 sites since it began franchising decades ago under Cancro’s ownership.
Argyll Street sits a short walk from Oxford Circus, in a stretch of the West End that has drawn several other US-founded chains opening their first UK sites over the past two years. The choice of a flagship central London site, rather than an out-of-town retail park, follows the pattern most US quick-service brands have used to establish an initial UK presence before expanding into regional cities.
First site opens on Argyll Street this autumn
Peter Cancro said: “I’m excited to bring that same spirit to the UK. We’ve spent decades building this brand in America, and now we’re ready to introduce a whole new audience to what we mean when we say ‘a Sub Above.’” Three further central London sites are already planned to follow the Argyll Street restaurant, ahead of the wider expansion into the rest of the UK and into Ireland.
Another US chain targets the UK high street
Jersey Mike’s joins a run of US quick-service brands that have opened first UK sites in 2026, adding a sandwich-led format to a London market already crowded with US-founded chicken, pizza and coffee brands. The brand has not said whether it will deliver the wider 400-unit commitment through additional franchise partners or largely through JM Submarines UK itself, and it has not announced any confirmed openings beyond the three further central London sites. Neither the franchisor nor JM Submarines UK has published an exact opening date for Argyll Street beyond “late autumn 2026” so far.
