Off The Clock: Hoop Dreams with Gregg Majewski of Jimmy John’s

Jimmy Johns Gregg Majewski stays in shape and bonds with friends on the basketball court.

By Charles Bernstein, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 2/1/2006

Gregg Majewski, franchisee of 15 Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shops as well as CEO of South Elgin, Ill.-based Wildcat Investments, which recently launched the Jerseys Pizza & Grill and Patty Burger concepts, plays basketball whenever he can.

“It is a game I just love,” he says. “It requires teamwork, a fast pace and plenty of challenges. No matter how good any player is, the team has to succeed together. Most of all, I get a kick out of making so many friends on the basketball court.”

His love of the game started in the fourth grade at the Grove Avenue elementary school in Illinois. Majewski liked playing basketball but admits that he wasn’t very good, especially since he was short.

Team Player
But it didn’t stop Majewski from joining the junior-varsity basketball team in high school. Although his team got crushed at first, the Burlington, Ill., high school team started to improve the second year.

Majewski also started to break out in his sophomore year. He finally grew to 5 feet 3 inches and moved up to the varsity team. “My high school coach gave me the chance to show what I could do, and I’ve never forgotten that,” Majewski declares.

“I was a point guard averaging 10 points a game and making my share of assists,” he says. “We never won the state high school championship, but we did win some of the league championships.”

Playing from the Sidelines
By the time he was a freshman at the University of Kentucky, Majewski had grown to just over 6 feet tall, still small for a basketball player. He unsuccessfully tried out for the Kentucky basketball team, but he continued to play pickup games with his college friends.

“Truthfully, I wasn’t good enough to make that great team,” Majewski admits. “Even though I wasn’t on the team, I really enjoyed the pickup games.”

The college basketball seasons turned out to be exciting for Majewski and his alma mater. Antoine Walker, who is now a professional basketball player for the Miami Heat, led the team to the 1996 and 1998 college championships. In between he helped the team finish second.

At age 29, Majewski still plays pickup games for the friendship and the fun of it. He likes playing the power forward position and scoring three-pointers from far outside. He plays in gyms and churches twice a week for 60 to 90 minutes each time. Basketball helps him stay in great shape, and he fully expects to play for at least another 30 years.