Monday, June 1, 2026 | 2 a.m.
When Lois Margolet opened a sandwich store successful the Little Italy vicinity of Wilmington, Del., 50 years ago, she was 28 years old, had secured a $13,000 indebtedness and was moving retired of a abstraction beneath her apartment.
She could not person imagined that 5 decades later, the concatenation she named aft her gramps would beryllium headquartered successful Las Vegas, tally by 2 UNLV alumni who erstwhile broke an flat lease conscionable to unrecorded person to 1 of her restaurants.
That is, successful essence, the Capriotti’s communicative — and successful its aureate day year, Las Vegas sits squarely astatine the halfway of it.
Margolet and her brother, Alan, built Capriotti’s connected a azygous differentiating idea: roast full turkeys overnight, each night, and propulsion them by manus the adjacent morning. In a portion saturated with sub and hoagie shops, that committedness to fresh-roasted nutrient drew lines astir the block.
They channeled that process into their signature creation, the Bobbie — a sandwich of slow-roasted pulled turkey, stuffing, cranberry condiment and mayonnaise connected fresh-baked rolls, named aft their Aunt Bobbie, who built akin sandwiches from Thanksgiving leftovers.
The Margolets opened a 2nd Delaware determination successful 1988 and began franchising successful 1991. Two years later, Lois made the determination that would yet reshape the full company. She opened the archetypal West Coast Capriotti’s astatine 322 W. Sahara Ave., adjacent Las Vegas Boulevard. The conception thrived. Locals and tourists packed the shop, and the marque dispersed crossed the valley.
It was determination that 2 UNLV students discovered it — and changed their lives due to the fact that of it.
Ashley Morris and Jason Smylie were assemblage roommates astatine UNLV successful the aboriginal 2000s. They ate astatine Capriotti’s truthful often that they moved to an flat person to a location.
“We fell truthful successful emotion with Capriotti’s that we broke our lease aboriginal truthful we could beryllium person to one,” Morris recalled to the Sun successful a 2010 story.
After graduating — Morris successful 2002, Smylie successful 2003 — some pursued different careers. Morris became what helium has described arsenic the youngest wealth manager with Wells Fargo astatine the time. Smylie went to enactment arsenic a bundle technologist astatine Bechtel Nevada. Neither stayed distant from Capriotti’s for long.
In 2004, the 2 opened their archetypal Capriotti’s franchise successful Las Vegas, yet expanding to 3 units.
As they grew, they pushed firm for a ample Phoenix improvement statement — and were rebuffed. That vexation led Morris to a antithetic idea: bargain the full company.
The urgency sharpened erstwhile Morris learned a competing connection had already been made. “The clip was present oregon never,” helium aboriginal recalled. In April 2007, the 2 enactment Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Inc. into escrow — without knowing however they would concern the deal.
“We had nary thought wherever we were going to get the money,” Morris said. “The system hadn’t tanked yet, but banks were conscionable opening to tighten their belts. We got obscurity there.”
They turned alternatively to their idiosyncratic networks. “The powerfulness of volition is unbelievable,” Morris said. “In a precise abbreviated time, we talked to everybody we knew — begging, borrowing, stealing.” Smylie laughed astatine that. “Well, not stealing,” helium said. “We did everything we could — banal offerings, backstage indebtedness financing. We sold 2 of the restaurants and kept the Horizon store. We enactment a radical unneurotic that’s 95% Las Vegans.”
On Jan. 1, 2008, they and their capitalist radical completed the acquisition from the Margolets. Morris became CEO, Smylie became president, and the firm office moved to Las Vegas. A Delaware instauration had become, successful a precise existent sense, a Nevada company. Lois Margolet, who sold the concatenation she co-founded, died Jan. 12, 2017, astatine her location successful Las Vegas. She was 68 years aged and had been battling lung cancer.
Under Morris and Smylie, Capriotti’s grew from a determination favourite into a structured nationalist franchise system. In November 2013, the institution opened a determination successful Washington, D.C. Then-Vice President Joe Biden — a Delaware autochthonal who had frequented Capriotti’s during his Senate years — was the archetypal lawsuit served connected opening day.
The chain’s Delaware roots made the Washington opening a earthy gully for Biden, a Wilmington fixture who arrived by motorcade conscionable aft 11 a.m. He ordered 4 sandwiches, including the Bobbie, and erstwhile helium reached for his wallet, came up short. He turned to his idiosyncratic adjutant and called out: “Fran, you got 10 bucks?”
When a Capriotti’s staffer offered to comp his order, Biden refused. “I’m not taking it,” helium said. “You cognize what, I’ve been going to Capriotti’s connected Union Street for the past 40 years. I person paid each clip I’ve gone. In Delaware, you pay. It’s simple.” The full came to $56.25.
In January 2021, Capriotti’s acquired the Atlanta-based chickenhearted helping concatenation Wing Zone, gathering a broader fast-casual level with conscionable nether 100 locations successful the U.S. and abroad. The 2 brands proceed to run nether the aforesaid firm umbrella retired of their shared office successful Las Vegas.
Now Capriotti’s enters its 50th day twelvemonth with much momentum than astatine immoderate constituent successful its history. The institution says it has much than 150 unfastened U.S. locations, with a stated extremity of reaching 500 by 2032.
In 2025, Capriotti’s opened 16 caller restaurants, signed franchise agreements for 30 further locations, climbed 7 spots successful the Franchise Times Top 400 to onshore astatine No. 292 among the largest U.S. franchise systems, and received a Franchise Innovation Award from Franchise Update. Twenty much Capriotti’s locations are scheduled to unfastened passim 2026, according to the firm office.
The anniversary, which officially falls connected June 28, has besides deepened the chain’s Southern Nevada roots. Capriotti’s signed connected arsenic the authoritative sandwich spouse of Las Vegas Lights FC, bringing in-stadium activations to Cashman Field done the 2026 season. The concatenation is besides the authoritative sandwich of FaZe Vegas successful the Call of Duty League, extending its beingness into the city’s increasing esports market.
To pull the adjacent procreation of franchise owners, the institution launched a “50-50-50” inducement offering qualified caller partners up to $50,000 successful savings done discounted franchise fees and royalties.
“This day is astir much than celebrating our past,” Morris said earlier this year. “It’s astir investing successful our aboriginal and making definite the adjacent 50 years are conscionable arsenic fruitful.”
Through each of the maturation and geography, 1 changeless has not changed: each night, successful each Capriotti’s location, full Butterball turkeys spell into the oven. Every morning, idiosyncratic pulls them isolated by hand.
It is the aforesaid process Lois Margolet started beneath her Wilmington flat a half-century agone — and the aforesaid 1 that hooked 2 UNLV students severely capable that they yet bought the company.
Las Vegas has a wont of reinventing things. In Capriotti’s case, it reinvented a Delaware sandwich store into a nationalist marque — and past gave it a home.
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