Twenty years of bread and butter - Top 20 ways to celebrate Sandwich Baron

Sandwich Baron, South Africa’s fastest growing sandwich franchise, celebrates its 20th year in business this year.  Founded by Sally J’Arlette-Joy, the franchise chain has grown from one to 51 stores in two decades, with stores in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Across the country, South Africa’s popular breakfast and lunch take-away for working folk has launched a birthday month social media promotion where it will give away 20 sandwiches every day. Each person who wins a free sandwich and goes into store, takes a selfie and posts it to social media with #Happy20thBirthdaySandwichBaron will be entered into a competition to win R20 000 in cash.  One lucky entrant will be drawn at the end of June.

This successful franchise business had humble beginnings in Sally’s home.  “After selling my restaurant I wanted to rest, but when the money was running out I realised that I needed a new idea and no-one had yet tapped into the sandwich market in South Africa.  So I started from home, but within weeks was reported to the health department. That forced me to open the first store in Alberton North, which is an area I know well, and from there, it literally just snowballed,” says Sally. “So shortly after opening the Alberton North store, demand was growing from surrounding areas and the franchise was borne.” 

One of the factors that sets Sandwich Baron apart for quick working lunchtimes at your desk is the sheer convenience of phoning through an order and its free delivery service.  

“We opened a second company-owned store in Germiston and then a third in Kempton Park.  As word spread it became harder and harder to run company stores personally and so franchising was the inevitable next step. The Germiston store was sold as our first franchise,” she continues.

The franchise offers a menu of over two hundred items including sandwiches, French breads, footlongs, baked potatoes, corporate platters and since June last year, its popular banting breakfast or lunch boxes.

According to Sally, Sandwich Baron’s success boils down to the fact that it supplies quality and freshly prepared food to people no matter what diet or lifestyle they have. 
“It made absolute sense to offer banting breakfasts and lunches.  We had all the right ingredients in store already for sandwiches and platters, so it was merely coming up with a no-carb way of presenting the banting meals,” she continues.

Sandwich Baron’s most popular meals seems to be anything with chicken mayo or anything with Avocado, but the crispy bacon comes in a close second. 

After 20 years in the franchise business Sally offers solid advice for success, “Never stop learning. Always remember, if you do not compromise on quality and freshness, you will make it.  If you realise early on that your store’s success is dependent on your own efforts, you will maximise your success.”

A Sandwich Baron franchise gives its franchisees unlimited free training for the duration of the franchise agreement.  Its field support managers and general support managers are always available in case of an emergency.  New franchise opportunities may exist in locations around South Africa.

“As sandwiches have always been considered a staple meal, I am pretty confident that Sandwich Baron will grow from strength to strength and will be around for many years to come.  Our focus right now is on improving the stores we have and opening new stores when we find the right franchisees.”