The restaurant was founded in 2007 in
San Francisco in the
Castro district by
Ike Shehadeh. The store was originally called "Ike's Place." Ike Shehadeh is of
Palestinian descent and stated that he learned how to make sandwiches from his mother. Ike stated that his inspiration for creating the company was "to share my love of bringing people together over amazing food.” By 2024, the restaurant had over 100 locations, primarily in California, but additionally in
Nevada,
Colorado,
Arizona,
Utah,
Hawaii,
Texas,
Louisiana, and other states. Its current CEO is Michael Goldberg. The restaurant offers a wide variety of options including meat, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options. It also frequently does celebrity collaboration sandwiches, having over 100 collaborations in 2025. == See also ==