Wichita has been waiting more than two years for Jersey Mike’s Subs. Here’s the latest

The last we heard from the franchisees planning to bring the Jersey Mike’s Subs chain to Wichita, they said they’d have the first one open in 2018.

Now it’s nearly halfway through 2019, and still there’s no progress on a Wichita Jersey Mike’s.

So what gives?

Sean Spencer, who was among the partners who in early 2017 first announced plans to bring the New Jersey-based chain to Wichita, said that’s still in their plans.

Back when they first announced it, he said, they had acquired the Jersey Mike’s rights for of all of Wichita. Around the same time, though, they also purchased some restaurants in Lincoln, Nebraska, and those took off. Though they always intended to get back to the Wichita market, Lincoln has been all-consuming.

They sat on the market for two and a half years, he said, and now, there’s a possibility that another Jersey Mike’s franchisee might be making plans to open in Wichita, too.

At the earliest, Spencer said, his group is still at least six months away from opening in Wichita.

“We used to have the market roped up,” he said. “We’re still coming. I just don’t know when.”

Jersey Mike’s has 1,557 stores across the United States. The closest to Wichita are in Topeka and Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The restaurants specialize in hot subs, cold subs and wraps. Jersey Mike’s is known for a topping called “the juice,” which is a zingy mixture of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

People in Wichita seem to be pretty eager for the chain to get here, too. We’ve received lots of e-mails over the past several months asking when Jersey Mike’s is coming.

The answer is still unclear, but we’ll let you know when there’s movement.