It has taken about seven years, but Jersey Mike’s Subs is opening in Exeter Township in just a couple of days.
The new store location, in the Exeter Commons Shopping Center, will officially open on Wednesday, May 6, starting with a ribbon cutting ceremony with township officials and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.
The new Jersey Mike’s is the third Berks County location for franchise-owner Gerrit Curran and will be his 27th location. The other Berks stores are in Muhlenberg and Spring townships.
“Exeter is a great part of the community we haven’t been able to engage with yet,” Curran said in an interview. “We’ve been watching it for a while, and we finally had the opportunity to come in.”
Curran said at about 2,000 square feet, the Exeter restaurant is “a little bigger than we otherwise prefer, but after five, six, seven years of waiting, we didn’t want to wait any longer.”
The fast casual restaurant has a team of about 20, Curran said, adding that training began on Wednesday, April 29. Orlando Rosario is the location’s general manager. He is a three-year veteran of the company and previously worked at the Muhlenberg Jersey Mike’s.
Jersey Mike’s subs is opening in Exeter Township on Wednesday, May 6. In this photo, new employees are learning how to make sandwiches “the Mike’s way,” during a training session led by Filomeno Monteiro, director of field support for Jersey Mike’s. (DONNA ROVINS – MEDIANEWS GROUP PHOTO)
Wednesday’s grand opening will also include a fundraiser to benefit the Exeter Community Education Foundation. Customers who receive a special fundraising coupon distributed through a grassroots effort prior to the opening can make a minimum $3 contribution to the foundation in exchange for a regular sub.
Customers must have a coupon to be eligible. The coupons will be distributed on Monday and Tuesday before the opening, with team members fanning out in teams of two across the township, visiting businesses and schools to deliver coupons, which are valid through May 10.
“It’s a bit of a juggle,” Curran said of the boots-on-the-ground distribution of coupons. “We don’t want to overwhelm the crew, so we have a finite amount we distribute to invite as many new customers in, while raising money for the foundation.”
There is also a charity flyer that the foundation is distributing, according to Brooklyn Duque, chief marketing officer for Curran’s franchise group.
“Every time one of the coupons scans we’ll donate $1 back (to the foundation),” she said.
When the new Jersey Mike’s Subs opens in Exeter Township on May 6, it will become the third Berks County location for the fast casual sandwich shop. (DONNA ROVINS – MEDIANEWS GROUP PHOTO)
Curran said there are three things that set Jersey Mike’s apart: The crew, product quality and philanthropy.
“I’d say we do everything the hard way. The hard way requires you to be baking bread fresh in the morning, and you’re slicing the cold sub or grilling the hot sub right in front of them (customers), with the produce you prepped fresh that morning,” he said. “It’s not the easiest way, but we think it makes all the difference in product quality.”
The second thing he said customers will notice is the engagement with employees.
“We do our best to hire the best people in the community who are genuinely interested in how your day is going,” he added. “So you’ll probably find when you come in that you’ll probably have a more engaging conversation with the team than at other places.”
The philanthropy, he said, stands on its own. Throughout the year Curran’s Jersey Mike’s locations participate in fundraisers with schools and youth sports.
On a corporate level, each March the chain holds its Month and Day of Giving. During the month, Jersey Mike’s locations accept donations for local charities. On the Day of Giving, 100% of total sales from the day are donated to local charities such as hospitals, youth organizations and food banks.
Results from this year’s Month and Day of Giving have not yet been released. In 2025, the fast casual chain raised a record $30 million to help charities around the country. Since the Month of Giving began in 2011, Jersey Mike’s has raised $143 million to aid causes.
All Jersey Mike’s stores raised money during this year’s Month of Giving to support the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games.
A sign in the new Exeter Township Jersey Mike’s Subs at the Exeter Commons Shopping Center, opening Wednesday, May 6. (DONNA ROVINS – MEDIANEWS GROUP PHOTO)
Curran owns and operates two Berks locations: at Broadcasting Square Shopping Center in Spring Township; and at 3225 Fifth Street Highway in Muhlenberg Township. He also operates stores in the Poconos and the Lehigh Valley.
In early March, Jersey Mike’s opened in Pottstown at 200 Shoemaker Road. It’s owned by franchisee Henry Gallo — who operates eight other locations, including five in Montgomery and Chester counties.
The restaurant’s hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.