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The Jersey Shore is coming to North Augusta – and not the reality show

Jersey Mike’s Subs opened its doors in its new location on Wednesday, June 18, for the first time. The location, 1141 Knox Ave. in the Belk shopping center, was part of the company’s development in the CSRA.

“We’re developing the market here, and this is our fourth store out of the first five,” Eric Clark, owner of the store, said. “We have one in Grovetown, one in Martinez and one in Aiken. North Augusta just fits what we do. We’ve got a lot of loyal customers from North Augusta who come to our other stores, especially Martinez and Aiken. We’re just happy to be here for them and also let the rest of North Augusta know who we are.”

Clark said the location of the store gives it a lot of visibility and parking.

“We have enough parking for the volume that our store needs to be successful,” he said. “It’s just about convenience. It’s a very convenient spot. We actually looked at other spots, and we have our eyes on some spots for the future, in particular between here and Aiken. For right now, I think this is a great spot for North Augusta. We looked downtown, but there wasn’t enough parking for us.”

As for what differentiates Jersey Mike’s from other sub shops, Clark said it is “the most authentic sub you can get.”

“It’s the freshest – nothing in our store is prepackaged,” he said. “Bread is made every morning for this day only. Our vegetables are prepped every day for this day only. Our meats and cheeses are in the meat case; they aren’t sliced until you order your sandwich. Our roast beefs are hand-trimmed and cooked in an oven for three hours every day for that day. Our Philly cheesesteaks and chicken Phillys are all cooked on the grill when it is ordered. It’s just really fresh, and I think that’s what separates us food-wise. Then with personnel, it’s just the old fashioned good customer service that everyone likes to have; we have it. The atmosphere of a Jersey Mike’s is a very friendly, outgoing, upbeat atmosphere when you come in here.”

Jersey Mike’s, as a company, partners with charities to give back to the community. The North Augusta location’s charity is the Southeastern Firefighters Burn Foundation.

“For every grand opening, we pass out 10,000 cards that are good for the first five days we are open,” Clark said. “It’s a $2 donation to our charity and a free sub. We also run ads in the paper and on radio with a buy one get one free with a $2 donation. We’re able to help the Southeastern Firefighters Burn Foundation tremendously with every store opening. In March, we also do a fundraiser for them and on one day we have a ‘day of giving,’ with 100 percent of sales in all of our stores going to them. They’re great to us, and they’re a great foundation to be involved with.”

Clark said they are already planning for another five stores to open in the next two to three years.