Capriotti's Sandwich Shop opens in Sarasota County

A new sandwich shop has opened in Sarasota County. Capriotti’s recently began welcoming customers to its location along U.S. 41 north of Stickney Point Road.

On the menu are a variety of sub sandwiches — such as cheeseteaks, pastrami, chicken, turkey, Italian and French Dip — plus made-to-order salads, soups and sides. The restaurant uses Snake River Farms Wagyu beef and Butterball turkey. It is known for a special sandwich it has trademarked called The Bobbie, which contains slow-roasted, hand-pulled turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayonnaise.

Franchisee Jason Cooper is the owner of the Sarasota Capriotti’s, which is at 6320 S. Tamiami Trail. He also owns the Capriotti’s in Bradenton, which opened in late 2023 at 7480 Cortez Road W.

"We’re very scratch-kitchen for a sandwich shop," Cooper says. "We prep all of our food products in-house. We make all of our dressings and sauces and stuffings." Every night, the restaurant oven-roasts its turkey, he says, and it receives deliveries of its proprietary bread multiple times a week. Capriotti's subs feature a "unique roll that helps make [each] sandwich what it is," Cooper adds.

Cooper plans to open a handful of Capriotti's stores in the region.

“My goal is probably to do at least five stores in the area. Lakewood Ranch is hopefully going to be store three," Cooper says, noting the restaurant there will likely open in 2027. In addition, "I have the territory from south Pinellas down to Port Charlotte."

Image via Capriotti's Sarasota Bradenton / Instagram

The first Capriotti’s launched in Delaware in 1976. Since then, the company has grown to more than 140 locations nationwide.

Because of the number of transplants from the Northeast who move to the Sarasota-Bradenton area, there is brand awareness here, according to Cooper, who says the 50-year-old company often evokes nostalgia. For those who were unfamiliar with Capriottii's before, he adds, many are just "excited to have a good gourmet sandwich shop" around.

The Capriotti's corporate headquarters is in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Cooper was first exposed to the restaurant when he was a student at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas studying hospitality administration; there was a Capriotti's across from his dorm. 

"I fell in love with the sandwiches in college 35 years ago, and here we are today," says Cooper, who now lives near Sarasota. "I decided I wanted to bring Capriotti's to this area."

On average, the total investment to open a Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop ranges from $594,700 to $935,000. In 2024, the average unit volume was more than $848,000 for Capriotti’s restaurants that were in operation for the full calendar year.

In addition to the new location in Sarasota, other Capriotti's restaurants in the region are in Bradenton, Lutz, Tampa and Odessa.