Guilty Eats
Fansided

The best fast food joint in every 50 state of America

By Kareem Gantt

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 06: In this photo illustration a bacon cheeseburger sandwich and fries are served at a Shake Shack restaurant on May 06, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Despite beating analyst expectations with first-quarter earnings and revenues the company’s share price dropped as second-quarter guidance fell short of expectations. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 06: In this photo illustration a bacon cheeseburger sandwich and fries are served at a Shake Shack restaurant on May 06, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Despite beating analyst expectations with first-quarter earnings and revenues the company’s share price dropped as second-quarter guidance fell short of expectations. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /
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EAST ST LOUIS, IL – JUNE 6: The St. Louis skyline is seen as the Mississippi River swells on June 6, 2019 in East St. Louis, Illinois. Residents along the Mississippi River are bracing for the expected arrival of the crest at near-record levels on Friday. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images) /

Illinois: Potbelly Sandwich Shop

Choices, choices, choices.

Illinois has such a plethora of iconic fast food chains that it’s hard to pick which one better represents the Land of Lincoln. So after an intense moment when we flip coins, did rock, paper, scissors, and even engaged in a game of Twister, we decided to pick Potbelly Sandwich Shop as Illinois’ claim to fame.

Illinois is pretty famous when it comes to sandwiches, and this chain latched on to that fame and, like Chicago’s famed deep dish pizza, took the state’s vision of sandwiches nationwide. It all started in 1977 in an old antique shop in the Windy City’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. For the next 19 years, it was Illinois’ best-kept secret. But in 1996, a guy named Bryant Keil decided to take Potbelly Sandwich Shop nationwide, and the rest is fast food sandwich history.

With over 400 locations nationwide serving classics as the Roast Beef and the Chicken Salad, and their most famous sandwich, “A Wreck,” it’s pretty easy to get your hands on a famous Potbelly sandwich.

You can thank the sandwich lovers of Illinois for this charming chain.

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