Jimmy John’s ‘Picklewich’ sparks love for Detroit’s pickle sandwich shop

Jimmy John’s has unveiled a bread-free sandwich made with a dill pickle, generating buzz for Detroit’s own pickle sandwich shop. 

Since the national sandwich chain’s announcement a week ago, Leona Milton, owner of What’s the Dill in the city’s University District, said there’s been a flood of messages of concern on social media from loyal patrons, arguing Jimmy John’s “stole” her idea.

“All my fans, all my customers, they keep calling me and letting me know about Jimmy John’s,” she told BridgeDetroit Thursday, adding it’s also led to an uptick in business. 

“The only thing it did was just give me an opportunity to go harder,” she said. “We’re coming out with a new item tomorrow.” 

Despite the chatter, the pickle sandwich isn’t new. It has been a trend since long before What’s the Dill opened in April 2023, with multiple trademarks filed. Katherine Cohen and Chad Jordan, who opened a pickle shop in Haddon Township, New Jersey, in 2019 claim to have started it. In 202, the pair filed a trademark for “Home of the original pickle sandwich,” and, in 2022, it was registered. Another pickle sandwich shop in the same city, Elsie’s Sandwich Shop, claims to be “home of the original pickle sub.” In January, another pickle sandwich shop opened in Oceanside, New York. 

Milton filed a trademark application for “What’s the Dill Stuffed Pickles” in February 2023 and it was granted this past July. Jimmy John’s filed a trademark for “Picklewich” on Wednesday. A Jimmy John’s spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Milton said she started making pickle sandwiches several years before she opened the brick-and-mortar and was unaware until Thursday that other shops had been hot on the trend since at least 2019. 

The new, national pickle sandwich campaign has meant a surge in customers, Milton said, spurring her to come up with even more ideas. 

Friday, a new menu item drops at What the Dill: the Chilly Dilly Dog, a hot dog in a pickle with chili, mustard, onions, ketchup and mustard. It will be offered for a limited time only through National Pickle Day on Nov. 14. If the item is popular, Milton said she’ll keep it on the menu.

“My customers, Detroit is going hard for What’s the Dill,” said Milton. What’s The Dill sells about 200 pickle sandwiches a day, she said. 

A repeat customer of What’s The Dill, Aamrroo Ali, 51, said he likes that the eatery has vegan and vegetarian options. 

“And they taste good, that’s the best thing about them,” he said, as he waited for his lunch order Thursday. 

He said he wouldn’t be trying Jimmy John’s new offering:  “I don’t go to Jimmy John’s now – I just don’t dig their food.”

There are a few differences between the pickle sandwiches at the two restaurants: At Jimmy John’s, the Turkey Picklewich ($8.39) is smaller, more cleanly packaged and easier to eat than What’s the Dill’s turkey sandwiches ($11.50), which are made with more ingredients and dripping wet and served with gloves to eat. While What’s the Dill offers a vegetarian and vegan pickle sandwich, Jimmy John’s does not. 

The Jimmy John’s Picklewich is a limited offering at participating locations and while supplies last. At the Jimmy John’s near Wayne State University’s campus, general manager Will Harris said they’ve been selling about 20 or 30 Picklewiches each day, even though the menu item is only advertised online and not in the store. 

Local social media food critic Edwin Taylor, known as Edd Eats, said he likes both in a review of the Jimmy John’s Picklewich posted to Instagram. 

“Juicy pickle, the turkey is fresh, it’s good,” he said. “Do I think it’s better than What’s the Dill? I don’t. This is definitely half the size than What the Dill pickles…to only have two options is kind of crazy…the chips I wouldn’t get again.” 

Milton said she hopes people will keep supporting her business. 

“We work real hard on our menu. It took me a couple years to create the menu, to perfect the menu,” she said. “Now a big corporation stepped in, so it’s important y’all keep supporting us. We want to keep this going in our family, it’s a generational thing I’m trying to keep going.”