Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, known for its award-winning, hand-crafted sandwiches has signed a franchise agreement with a local entrepreneur to open 17 new restaurants across Idaho, Montana, Washington and Arizona, with the first location recently opened in Mesa, Arizona.

The agreement calls for 17 restaurants to open over the next five years, by the end of 2025. There will be six restaurants in Idaho, two in Montana, one in Washington and eight in Arizona. Targeted markets for the new restaurants include Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Pocatello in Idaho; Spokane in Washington; Gilbert in Arizona; and more.

The new restaurants will be owned and operated by local entrepreneur, Steve Holdeman, who has worked in the restaurant space since he was 16 years old. Holdeman managed top tier restaurants like Arby's, Subway, Pizza Hut and more for over 30 years, so when his partners approached him with the idea of running their own restaurants, he knew it would be a perfect fit. Having previously run 80 restaurants at one time, Holdeman is also the top performing owner of all Sweeto Burrito franchised restaurants. He and his team are dedicated to serving the highest-quality products with the most premium service.

"Bringing Capriotti's to the Pacific Northwest and Arizona will provide the booming cities with a spin on traditional recipes, handcrafted food and an authentic experience," said Holdeman. "Growing up in the restaurant business taught me the importance of customer service. Capriotti's shared focus on premium food and service is what drew us to the brand and we're looking forward to bringing the unique Capriotti's dining experience to Idaho, Montana, Washington and Arizona."

Capriotti's is most famous for its 40-year nightly tradition of slow-roasting whole, all-natural turkeys in-house and hand-shredding them each morning to feature in a variety of fan-favorite subs. This includes The Bobbie, the shop's acclaimed best-seller, made with homemade turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayo on a soft roll.

"We're very excited to welcome Steve and his team to the Capriotti's family, and look forward to watching him grow as a multi-unit franchise owner," said David Bloom, Capriotti's Chief Development Officer. "Developing our brand across the Pacific Northwest will add great-tasting variety to a busy market, opening up untapped potential."

The brand has signed an impressive 48 franchise development deals within the first six months of this year and plans to expand to 500 locations by 2025 through franchising. Capriotti's has franchise opportunities for single and multi-unit developers. For more information, visit http://www.capriottis.com.

About Capriotti's Sandwich Shop
Founded in 1976, Capriotti's Sandwich Shop is an award-winning national franchised restaurant chain that remains true to its 40-year tradition of slow-roasting whole, all-natural turkeys in-house every day. Capriotti's cold, grilled and vegetarian subs, cheese steaks and salads are available at more than 100 locations across the United States. Capriotti's signature sub, The Bobbie®, was voted "The Greatest Sandwich in America" by thousands of readers across the country, as reported by AOL.com. Capriotti's fans can also download the CAPAddicts Rewards app for iOS and Android, where they can earn and redeem rewards. Capriotti's plans to grow to over 500 locations by 2025, and was listed amongst the Franchise Times 200+ listing for 2018. For more information, visit capriottis.com. Like Capriotti's on Facebook, follow on Twitter or Instagram.