PrimoHoagies, a Philly and South Jersey staple, plans to expand west as far as Colorado

If Texans aren’t sure what a hoagie is, they’ll soon find out.

PrimoHoagies announced plans to expand its franchise locations in 2023 not only to the north and south, but to the west, as well.

The company, which started in South Philly but is now based in Gloucester County, said stores would open in five new states in 2023, bringing its operations to 12 states in all.

“We’re thrilled to kick off the new year by introducing the Primo Difference to Texas, Colorado, Michigan, and Louisiana and, later this year, to Albany, N.Y.,” Nicholas Papanier Jr., owner, president, and CEO of PrimoHoagies, said in the announcement.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been hyper-focused on building and improving our infrastructure to support our franchisees and drive explosive growth,” Papanier said.

Papanier said the company expects to open as many as 350 stores over the next five years.

The company said it is seeing rapid growth, with an 18% year-over-year increase in gross sales in 2022.

In addition, average sales for the top 25% of PrimoHoagies Franchising Inc.’s stores increased from $1.28 million in 2021 to $1.35 million in 2022.

The casual restaurant’s menu offers cold and hot hoagies, cheesesteaks, wraps, and vegetarian options, as well as sides and desserts.

The first PrimoHoagies store opened in South Philadelphia in 1992, using Thumann’s meats and cheeses. It is now headquartered in Westville, with franchise locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The company currently has 93 stores, with plans to open the 100th store in the first quarter of this year.

PrimoHoagies is not the only Philly-area company taking its sandwiches west. Wawa announced in December that it is scouting new store sites in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, with the first of those gas-and-sandwich convenience stores under the flying-goose signs to be opened after 2025.

» READ MORE: Wawa goes west: The convenience chain is eyeing locations in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana

Wawa also plans to move into Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia by 2024. The company has nearly 1,000 stores, with roughly one-quarter each in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida, and most of the rest in the counties around Washington, D.C.

The company plans 70 new stores this year, including sites near Penn State and Pensacola, Fla., after adding more than 40 in 2022.