I ate lunch at a Jimmy John’s today. They make what they call a “Gourmet Sandwich”, which is really a sub. It was actually pretty good.
If you go to their website, right at the top it says
Well, that looks promising. It was certainly worth checking out.
I went in at around 1:40 in the afternoon. The place was pretty deserted, and as I entered the door (coming in on a rainy afternoon), the three employees (and, maybe, the owner) had a clear view of me and my bare feet.
Nobody said a word. I got my sandwich and sat down in one of the booths to eat it.
The place is rather kitschy. Nice, clean, but rather kitschy. (You can get a flavor of it just by browsing their website.) There were various signs all over the walls. Right next to me (at eye level while sitting down) was this one:
Hmmm.
But after looking around some more, I decided that their signs are all pretty much tongue-in-cheek (that’s the kitsch). Here’s another one of them (this one, like all that I am showing, was at knee level, and thus unlikely to actually be a product):
And here’s yet another (sorry about the blur):
Again, it is concentrating on being cutesy. I didn’t get a picture of another sign that caught my attention, but it said not to “pick your teeth, or anything else.”
So, I don’t think any big deal should be made of the sign referring to “State Code”. Yeah, it’s incorrect, but so are most of their signs. It’s the kitsch, not the catch.
Regarding their “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Worries” sign: I’d like to believe that that is corporate policy, but my suspicion is that that too is part of the kitsch, and not a commitment. And the “We Deliver” suggests that it is in the delivering that they don’t care how you are dressed. On the bright side, they had no “real” sign regarding footwear.
Bottom line: in the end I suspect it is like any other restaurant (and many stores): unpredicable. If those on duty don’t care about bare feet, or haven’t bought the myth of health codes, no problem. But if you happen to hit an anal employee who refuses to understand what good customer service means, you’re out of there, regardless of what any other sign says.
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