Last year, the private equity firm Blackstone acquired Jersey Mike’s for 8 billion dollars, and many sandwich lovers at the time knew exactly what that meant: their beloved sandwich shop would eventually cost more and taste worse.

At the time of the deal, Blackstone said they “intended to help enable Jersey Mike’s to accelerate its expansion across and beyond the U.S. market.” Though after a year of new ownership, videos of tiny and abysmal-looking $9 sandwiches have begun to tarnish a once-trusted brand.

As if buying up all the single-family homes wasn’t enough, now they’ve come for our turkey subs. 

Private equity firms ruin another restaurant chain

American went to Jersey Mikes. This is what you get for $9

Remember when $5 got you a whole footlong in America…

Blackstone bought Jersey Mikes, completing the purchase in 2025. Portion sizes have continued to decline pic.twitter.com/aR5EJ3skYz

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) November 21, 2025