Jersey Giant Subs – Portage
5228 S. Westnedge Avenue, Suite CKeeping my streak of checking out new restaurants on opening day. Today’s stop is the new Jersey Giant Subs in Portage.
Jersey Giant isn’t new to me. It’s actually a Lansing area restaurant that has a few restaurants in that market. As far as I know, the venture to the Kalamazoo area is the first out of the Lansing area.
The new Portage Store is on South Westnedge in the shopping center where The Mole Hole Outlet used to be. It’s kind of hidden back in the corner and kind of hard to find if you’re not looking for. J and I have been watching on Twitter to see when they were opening and last week, we finally a noticed a date.
Today was a weird work schedule. We both had to be at work long before the sun came up, but that also meant we’d be home just after lunch time. After a little unwinding. We got back in the car and headed a few blocks to pick up lunch.
Business wasn’t booming yet. We were actually the only ones in the building when we walked in around 1:30. The order counter is in the back of the space with tables taking up the front section. We headed to the back and looked up to find the large menu board behind the counter.
As the name implies, the subs are giant and there are no options for anything smaller. This isn’t Subway. There are no 6″ subs. There is only one size and it’s large. Two meals large.
J actually picked out her sandwich first. She went with #5 on the menu which is Ham, Cheese, and Capacola on wheat bread. The meats and cheeses are all sliced fresh so after pulling a bun out and slicing it length-wise, the sandwich maker pulled meats and cheeses out of a fridge and started slicing. The toppings are also pretty limited consisting of just lettuce, tomato, onion, a top secret Italian Vinaigrette, salt and spices, and mayo and mustard. J went with the Vinaigrette, salt and spices, and added banana peppers which were an extra $.50.
I chose #6 which also goes by the name “The Boss.” It has ham, cheese, capacola, salami, prostini, and pepperoni between the bread and I also chose wheat bread. I went really light on the toppings. No veggies. Just the dressing and salt and spices.
Since we were so close to home, I decided to just get our sandwiches wrapped up to go. That way I could save a little money on drinks and extras since the bill for the two sandwiches was still around $16.
I did eat at a Jersey Giant once in Lansing, but J wasn’t home that night so she didn’t quite know what to expect. I knew I was only going to eat half, but she was really shocked when she actually opened the wrapper up and saw the sandwich was cut into four slices.
Both of us really enjoyed our lunch and will enjoy them again for dinner. There was a big stack of meat on my sandwich and even without veggies, it was very filling. J said her sandwich was really good and liked the idea that she will have at least one if not two more meals. I like that they don’t rely on filling the sandwiches with veggies. The more meat the better.
I’m glad to see Jersey Giant expanding. It’s kind of a big deal in the Lansing area and they’ve been in business since the 70’s, so it’s not a fly-by-night operation. It’s always good to have options in the sandwich market because if you eat one too many times, it will eventually get old….well, unless you’re my brother, but that’s another story.
#5 Ham, Cheese, and Capacola
SW Michigan Dining 
Glad you enjoyed!! Hope to see you again sometime!
There was one in Grand Rapids (Standale) on Lake Michigan Dr a few years ago. Not sure if it’s still open. I liked that they sliced fresh meat for every sandwich!
There’s a place called Broadway Subs in Walker that advertises “Jersey Style Subs” and it sounds very familiar to Jersey Giant… 15″ subs, etc…..don’t know if they’re related or a rip-off….
Direct rip-off. Old manager quit and opened his own.