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Jimmy John talks about entrepreneurship, 3 p.m., March 4, Cornell Hall, Trulaske College of Business

It's not unusual for students to enjoy sandwiches from a national chain. It is somewhat unique to meet the person whose name is on the wrapper.

Jimmy John Liautaud, the namesake for the Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shops chain, will deliver a lecture about entrepreneurship and his unique approach to marketing at 3 p.m., March 4 in Cornell Hall, Trulaske College of Business, on the University of Missouri campus. The visit will be sponsored by the Hotel and Restaurant Management Department of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

Liautaud has about 750 gourmet sandwich restaurants, mostly in the Midwest and in college towns. He was invited to speak at MU by Michael (BS '85) and Amy Monahan, the local franchisee. Three students are coordinating his visit as part of a Special Events Management class offered through the Hotel and Restaurant Management program.

Liautaud graduated from the Elgin Academy, Elgin, Ill., in 1982. After graduation, his father loaned the 19-year-old $25,000 to start a hot dog business.

He decided to start a sandwich shop instead. The first Jimmy John's opened in a garage in Charleston, Ill. with used equipment and no formal menu. His early customers came from the nearby Eastern Illinois University.

To drum up his first business, he began taking samples to nearby office buildings during the day and to bars at night. Customers soon were pouring into the garage, lured by the eatery's combination of quality, freshness and value-priced sandwiches served up quickly.

As challenging as that first year was, Jimmy John's managed to earn $156,000 in sales, $40,000 of which was profit. Two years later, the burgeoning sandwich mogul bought his father's interest and became the sole owner of the business. The groundwork for his present corporate culture, which celebrates directness, honesty, hard work and democracy, had been laid. He opened his second store in Macomb, Ill.

Today, in addition to his own stores, he has co-branding relationships with Kwik Mart, Shell, Mobile Oil and Papa John's. In 2002, Entrepreneur magazine's "Franchise 500" issue ranked Jimmy John's third overall in its Sandwiches-Miscellaneous Category.

And Jimmy John is bringing sample sandwiches.