Looking down the road for new Jimmy John's in Ellisville

April, 2014. That’s when the new Jimmy John’s restaurant hopes to open its doors for business, if everything runs smooth, proprietor Chris Sedlak said. 

The business is hoping to get approval and move into the Mobil Gas location, at 15961 Manchester Road, after the gas station closes later this year.

One of the draws of the location, for any business, is the potential that a Walmart will be nearby, and the busy corner of Manchester and Clarkson is another draw. But those aren’t Sedlak’s only reasons to bring Jimmy John’s to Ellisville.

“I would put that store there regardless of whether Walmart comes or not,” he said. “I grew up most of my life in the St. Louis county area. I remember that corner from many years ago and I remember the old Burger King near that corner.”

That Burger King is where Sedlak trained, when he was preparing to become a franchisee owner.

“I’ve always known about Ellisville and it’s always been nostalgic for me.”

At a recent Ellisville City Council public hearing, Sedlak presented plans of a drive-thru for the potential restaurant, and all the residents in the audience showed excitement at the sandwich chain’s plans.

“What the council did was ask the audience what the residents thought,” Sedlak said. “We will need to go back to the next city council meeting, which is in mid-July. We also need to submit a plan to the Architectural Review Board. Those two things need to happen before I know a schedule.”

The council is expected to vote on a conditional use permit for the drive-thru at its next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday July 17. Once the franchise’s plans are approved, Sedlak will start on the work needed to make the old gas station ready for business.

“Ideally, if the gas station closes in September, we have to wait for the gas station operator to remove the tanks from the ground and an environmental company to test whether there are any leaks,” Sedlak said. “After that is all done, which normally takes around a month, based on past experience with other projects like this, we’ll begin construction.”

Once construction begins, Sedlak said, it will take about two to three months to build the restaurant structure and another 45 days to finish the interiors.

Best case scenario if everything goes smoothly, Sedlak said the Jimmy John’s would be open for business in April next year.