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What 20 celiac families found at 36 Jersey Mike's

In August 2026 we asked one question on Facebook: how does Jersey Mike's actually go for your celiac family? Twenty families answered with 36 specific locations across 18 states. We coded every report.

Free to read and free to cite. No signup, no ads, nothing for sale.

How we counted

The unit here is a location report, not a person — one family who named three stores contributed three records. Each was coded for how the visit went and for what the store was reported to do: gloves, knife, prep area, slicer, condiments, grill.

Blank fields mean the family didn't say, not that the answer was no. So each precaution below is scored only against the families who mentioned it, and that number is shown every time.

30 of 36 went well

The best ratio of any chain families have described to us.

Went well30 · 83%

Went badly, or the family chose not to eat5 · 14%

Informational only1 · 3%

The word that starts the protocol

Four families, independently, told us the same thing: it isn't "gluten free" that triggers the allergy procedure. It's "allergy." One said their store asks outright — preference, or allergy? — and it's the allergy answer that brings the clean knife, fresh gloves and clean board.

The families reporting the most consistent results across the most locations were, every time, the ones who said allergy or celiac rather than gluten free.

What the stores actually did

Scored only against the families who mentioned each one.

Gloves changed21 of 22

Clean or dedicated knife21 of 25

Separate prep area23 of 27

Slicer cleaned or dedicated12 of 16

Separate mayo, bottle or packets4 of 6

Three families said their store had no separate prep area at all, and three said the slicer was shared. Those are the stores the ratio above is hiding.

The five that went badly

We publish these alongside the good ones or the good ones aren't worth anything.

A family was told plainly their store has no separate prep space, doesn't clean the slicer or the grill, and uses shared toppings. They didn't eat.
A family reported getting sick twice, and watched their wrapper go down on a crumb-covered surface.
A family with celiac was glutened after ordering nothing but a gluten-free roll and turkey — about the most minimal order there is.
A family tried twice at a store where staff did not appear to understand the protocol.
A family watched the prep area wiped down with the same rag being used around the bread.

Five out of 36 is a good ratio. It is not a safe ratio if you are the one.

Where they were

18 states. Connecticut and New York account for a third of the reports, so this is not an even national sample.

CT · 7NY · 6WA · 4OH · 3 MN · 2SC · 2DEGAPA NDMIHIOKNC TXWIVAUT

29 of the 36 reports came from ordering in person. Almost nobody described a mobile or app order, so we can't say much about that route.

What this is not

We'd rather say this plainly than have you find it out later:

It isn't a survey. It's people who chose to answer a Facebook post, and 36 reports from 20 families is a small sample. Two states supply a third of it.
It isn't verified. No diagnosis was confirmed and no reaction was tested. "Got sick" means somebody said so.
It isn't a safety certification. Practices change with the employee, the shift, the franchise and the day. Nothing here tells you how the store on your road will handle it this afternoon.
It isn't affiliated with Jersey Mike's. We have no relationship with the company. Nobody paid for or reviewed this.

What we did with it

We turned it into a free guide: the word to use, the question that sorts a store in one sentence, the mayo, the grill, and the honest limits of all of it.

Read the Jersey Mike's guide See what families found near you

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Using these numbers

Writers, dietitians, and researchers are welcome to cite any of this — please link back to this page so people see the limitations along with the numbers. Questions about method: hello@tableforjames.com.

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