 | |
.jpg) TOGO'S inEugene, Oregon | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1964; 61 years ago (1964) Marquette, Michigan[1] |
| Headquarters | San Jose,California,United States |
Key people | Glenn Lunde (CEO) |
| Products | Sandwiches,salads,wraps |
| Parent | Southfield Mezzanine Capital |
| Website | www.togos.com |
TOGO'S Eateries, LLC is an American chain offast casualsandwichrestaurants owned by Southfield Mezzanine Capital[2] who purchased the company in March 2019. TOGO'S is headquartered inCampbell, California.[3]
TOGO'S is a franchise-based business. Some TOGO'S locations are co-branded withBaskin-Robbins'ice cream shops (which were both owned by thesame parent company from 1997 to 2007). As of July 2020, the company has more than 180 locations open and under development throughout the West.
In 1964, two students ofNorthern Michigan University, Tom Neumann and Gordon Reed, opened the first TOGO'S inMarquette, Michigan. The origin of the name is twofold. The two co-founders combined parts of their first names, the "TO" from Tom and "GO" from Gordon. Additionally, the original shop had no seating, so all of the orders were "to-go". Neumann departed a year after the founding, and in 1966 Reed sold the business to Joseph Fountain.[4] Fountain moved the Marquette business twice, settling in its current location at 1000 North Third Street.[5] A second location in nearby Harvey was opened in the mid-1990s, but closed in April 2019[6]
Reed moved toSan Jose, California and in 1968 again opened a shop named TOGO'S, this time at 336 East William Street nearSan Jose State University.[7][8] At that time, the sandwich shack (in a building built in 1919 and less than 1,000 square feet or 93 square metres) was so small that only four people at a time could be inside and the sign out front read "Sandwiches To Go", with "To Go" being on the second line.
In 1971 the shop was purchased by Mike Cobler, a localSan Jose State University student.[9][10] The second TOGO'S location was opened inCorvallis, Oregon, in 1971 when Reed relocated after the sale of the San Jose location.[11] The third location opened in downtown San Jose in 1974. The first franchise was sold in 1978.[citation needed]
In 1997, TOGO'S was acquired by Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants, a precursor ofDunkin' Brands. By 2001, there were approximately 350 TOGO'S sandwich shops, serving more than 25 different types of sandwiches.[citation needed]
On November 30, 2007, TOGO'S was sold to Mainsail Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, in partnership with Tony Gioia, a former president of Baskin-Robbins.[12] Gioia served as chairman and chief executive officer of TOGO'S until his retirement in May 2017.[13] Mainsail sold the company toDavid Nazarian's Nimes Capital in December 2015.[14]
In 2018, its stores switched soft drinks fromPepsi toCoca-Cola Freestyle.
Most sandwiches on the TOGO'S menu are served withlettuce,tomatoes,onions,pickles andpepperoncinis, often called "TOGO'S Style".[15][16] Depending on the menu item, TOGO'S Style can also come withsalt andblack pepper.
Media related toTogo's at Wikimedia Commons
