CHICAGO - Jeff Endervelt's interest in low-carbohydrate foods began as a personal quest when he experimented with the Atkins diet and spin-offs that helped him shed 20 pounds.
As chief executive of Atlanta-based Blimpie International Inc., Endervelt saw a market worth pursuing when his customers started asking for submarine sandwiches on something other than white bread.
A sandwich shop called Blimpie's might seem an unlikely destination for dieters. It is now also the only national restaurant operator testing a separate menu targeted at the low-carb, high-protein eating craze.
The Blimpie Carb Counter Menu, launched this month in parts of New York's Long Island, offers 6-inch subs with fillings like roast beef and cheddar with wasabi dressing on seven-grain bread. The sandwiches, each with only 7 to 8.5 net carb grams and lacking the white flour eschewed by low-carb adherents, can be paired with a SoBe drink and Crunchers chips from Atkins Nutritionals Inc.
Endervelt expects to take his low-carb menu items into some 1,650 Blimpie stores nationally.
Low carb linkie
As chief executive of Atlanta-based Blimpie International Inc., Endervelt saw a market worth pursuing when his customers started asking for submarine sandwiches on something other than white bread.
A sandwich shop called Blimpie's might seem an unlikely destination for dieters. It is now also the only national restaurant operator testing a separate menu targeted at the low-carb, high-protein eating craze.
The Blimpie Carb Counter Menu, launched this month in parts of New York's Long Island, offers 6-inch subs with fillings like roast beef and cheddar with wasabi dressing on seven-grain bread. The sandwiches, each with only 7 to 8.5 net carb grams and lacking the white flour eschewed by low-carb adherents, can be paired with a SoBe drink and Crunchers chips from Atkins Nutritionals Inc.
Endervelt expects to take his low-carb menu items into some 1,650 Blimpie stores nationally.
Low carb linkie