“Imagination is everything. It’s the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
Swing and a miss.
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s our What We Eat article demonstrates (Check it out on page 28), some eateries like Donkey’s Place can become well-loved, successful iconic establishments that generations of people return to again and again over the years, even the decades. Sadly, however, many small businesses fade out of existence, even those where all the cards for success seem to be in place. One such business that seemed to have every ingredient for success on their menu was Mike Schmidt’s Philadelphia Hoagies. The chain opened back in the 1990’s with 10 stores throughout the Philadelphia area. With the name and apparent support of the Philadelphia Phillies own home-run king, Michael Jack Schmidt, combined with a variety of sandwiches (what outsiders call submarine sandwiches, but are known to us in the Philly area as “hoagies”), success seemed assured. In fact, your hungry scribe was a repeat customer at the one in Marlton, NJ, so it must’ve been pretty good. Alas, it was not to be, however. According to the Franchise Graveyard blog in 2004, quoting Maxim Magazine online, “despite Mike’s 12 All-Star appearances, nine of the restaurants were forced to shut their doors, and franchisees filed suit against the company. The one remaining restaurant, in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, changed its name to Schmittys...”
Source: (http://failedfranchise.blogspot.com/2004/09/ mike-schmidts-philadelphia-hoagies.html)
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