At Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, we’re known for our award-winning sandwiches and lucrative franchise opportunities. As a brand that prides itself on empowering our franchise partners in their businesses and offering plenty of support along the way, we love to celebrate their successes, too. Recent franchise partner Tessie Rodriguez opened her El Paso, Texas, location last month and has already experienced booming business, even with the challenges presented by additional safety and social distancing protocols in place due to the pandemic, and she was featured in a story in the El Paso Times.
Rodriguez had been a pharmaceutical sales representative for eight years but, following a divorce, all of the traveling didn’t suit her new life as a single mom to three young boys. She decided to go into business for herself and did her research. She was intrigued by the glowing reviews of Capriotti’s sandwiches and the fact that each restaurant oven-roasts turkeys in-store. Because she didn’t have restaurant experience, she found the support and guidance of the franchise model appealing.
She had originally planned to open April 20, but COVID-19 created a few more obstacles than anyone expected. Rodriguez was in Las Vegas for training when everything began to shut down, so she was sent home and training was put on hold. Once it was safer to do so, she completed her training and opened her store at half capacity—which actually had a silver lining. It allowed her and her team of 20 employees time to focus on learning the sandwiches and networking through other avenues: Rodriguez made sure her local contacts from her pharmaceutical sales days knew about catering and deliver through DoorDash and Uber Eats.
With customers searching for new or healthier options during quarantine, Rodriguez believes Capriotti’s fits the bill perfectly, thanks to unique sandwich choices, more veggie and turkey options, and, of course, the distinction of our signature sub, The Bobbie, having been voted “The Greatest Sandwich in America.”
Welcome to the Capriotti’s family, Tessie!
Read the full article in the El Paso Times online, or learn more about how you can become an owner of your own Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop by reviewing our Steps to Ownership.
