For Which Wich, Success Is In The Bag

Ordering on brown paper bags is a gimmick at JeffSinelli’s sandwich chain— just one idea from a dynamo with hard work in his DNA.

- Dinah Eng

JeffSinelli, 48, jokes that he emerged from the womb “naked and broke, sold the umbilical cord to the doctor, and hasn’t stopped since”. In truth, his hustle manifested itself at age 10, when he eked out cash by picking up cigarette butts at his dad’s nightclub. He later began opening clubs and restaurant chains, including Which Wich Superior Sandwiches. It’s known for its customisable offerings and ordering process: Customers mark up a bag with a menu on it; the food is delivered in that bag. Which Wich now has 438 stores, and 2016 revenue was $217 million (Rs 1,370 crore). Sinelli’s story:

I GREW UP in a two-storey house in Hamtramck, Michigan. We lived on the first floor, and my grandparents lived on the second. My grandparents were on a government assisted food programme, and both of them worked three jobs to make ends meet. My father graduated from law school, then got into the nightclub business.

When I was 10, he would take me to work with him on Saturdays and put me in the parking lot to pick up the cigarette butts and bottle caps. I would negotiate my pay—enough to cover my candy. That experience taught me that no job is too small.

I went to Michigan State and got a degree in communications in 1990. My senior year, I played professional lacrosse for the Detroit Turbos while going to school. After finishing an MBA at City University of Seattle, I worked for my father, playing bartender, managing his clubs, and playing lacrosse.