When was Potbelly founded?

Potbelly was founded in 1977 and raised its 1st funding round 24 years after it was founded.

Where is Potbelly located?

Potbelly is headquartered in Chicago, United States. It is registered at Chicago, Illinois.

How many employees does Potbelly have?

As of Jul 31, 2026, the latest employee count at Potbelly is 3436.

Is Potbelly a funded company?

Potbelly is a funded company, having raised a total of $58M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** PE round, raised on Sep 2001.

When was the latest funding round of Potbelly?

Potbelly's latest funding was a $***** Post IPO round on Nov 16, 2017, with participation from 1 investor. Its primary sector is Food Service Chains. In United States, the Food Service Chains sector has seen $183M in funding in 2026 to date.

What is the annual revenue of Potbelly?

Annual revenue of Potbelly is between $100M and $500M as on Dec 31, 2024

Where does Potbelly rank among its competitors?

Potbelly ranks 17th amongst 798 active competitors, of which 44 are funded. It stands 1st in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Clover Food Lab, which secured $2.5M in May, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of Potbelly?

Potbelly's top competitors include First Watch, YUM! Brands and Chipotle. Among them, Clover Food Lab secured the most recent funding round in May, 2026.

Potbelly - 2026 Company Profile, Funding, Competitors & Financials

Q: Is Potbelly an acquired company?

Potbelly got acquired by RaceTrac on Sep 10, 2025.

Potbelly is an acquired company based in Chicago (United States), founded in 1977. It operates as a Quick service restaurant for sandwiches. Potbelly has raised $58M in funding. The company has 798 active competitors, including 44 funded and 99 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like First Watch, YUM! Brands and Chipotle.

Company Details

Potbelly Sandwich Works owns and operates quick service restaurants for sandwiches in the United States. The company owns and operates outlets in 26 states. It also 12 franchised shops in the Middle EastThe company is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Website: potbelly.com
Social
Registered Address: Chicago, Illinois

Key Metrics

Founded Year

1977

Location

Chicago, United States

Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$58M in 4 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Post IPO, Nov 16, 2017, $*****

Investors

Benchmark & 10 more

Ranked

17^th among 798 active competitors

Annual Revenue

$100M - $500M as on Dec 31, 2024

Employee Count

3,436 as on Jul 31, 2026

Similar Companies

Subway & 569 more

Exit Details

Acquired by RaceTrac (Sep 10, 2025)

View Potbelly's full profile

Potbelly is associated with 2 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Documents
POTBELLY SANDWICH WORKS, LLC CIN: 364063453 , United States, Active	Dec 26, 999	-	5024 (As on Dec 31, 2024)	-
POTBELLY CORP CIN: 1195734 , United States, Active	Jun 04, 2001	$100M - $500M (As on Dec 31, 2024)	6000 (As on Dec 31, 2022)	-

Potbelly got acquired by RaceTrac on Sep 10, 2025 at an acquisition amount of $*****.

Click here to take a look at Potbelly's acquisition in detail

Potbelly has raised a total funding of $58M over 4 rounds. Its first funding round was on Sep 2001. Its latest funding round was a Post IPO round on Nov 16, 2017 for $*****. 1 investor participated in its latest round. Potbelly has 11 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Potbelly:

Filter this list

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Nov 16, 2017	3702677	Post IPO	7428059	7786990	7560937	9901469
Jun 12, 2006	1314323	PE	4844043	5113007	1811072	Oak Investment Partners & 1 more
Feb 2006	5729671	PE	2725782	1148213	6735104	American Securities

Access funding benchmarks and valuations. Sign up today!

View details of Potbelly's funding rounds and investors

Potbelly's employee count trend

Potbelly has 3,436 employees as of Jul 26. Here is Potbelly's employee count trend over the years:

Uncover Potbelly's growth story! Sign up today!

Access Tracxn on any website

Our Google Chrome extension lets you view company details while browsing their websites

Install Tracxn Extension

Top competitors of Potbelly include First Watch, YUM! Brands and Chipotle. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Potbelly, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	First Watch 1983, Bradenton (United States), Public	Chain of limited service restaurant	-	L Catterton, Advent International	72/100
2nd	YUM! Brands 1997, Louisville (United States), Acquired	Restaurants chains	-	-	69/100
3rd	Chipotle 1993, Newport Beach (United States), Public	Chains providing prepared meals and catering services	$1.5M	Boston York Restaurant Group, Pershing Square Holdings ... & 2 others	67/100
4th	Cracker Barrel 1969, Lebanon (United States), Public	Chain of limited service restaurants	-	-	65/100
5th	Tropical Smoothie Cafe 1997, Atlanta (United States), Acquired	Fast-casual restaurant inspiring better with smoothies, food, and community	-	BIP Capital, FOD Capital & 4 others	65/100
6th	BJ's Restaurants 1978, Huntington Beach (United States), Public	Limited service restaurant chain	-	Lowell Capital Management, Act 3 Holdings ... & 1 others	64/100
7th	Jimmy John 1982, Champaign (United States), Acquired	Brand of wraps and sandwitches	-	Weston Presidio, CPP Investments & 3 others	64/100
8th	Clover Food Lab 2008, Cambridge (United States), Series B	Chain of restaurants serving American style food in Boston, USA.	$17.7M	Beta Angels, Act 3 Holdings & 6 others	63/100
9th	Bojangles 1977, Charlotte (United States), Acquired	Southern-inspired fast food restaurant specializing in fried chicken and biscuits	-	CFT Capital Partners, Industrial Investors Group ... & 4 others	63/100
10th	Togo's Eateries 1971, San Jose (United States), Acquired	Fresh, made-to-order sandwiches and restaurant catering since 1971	-	Southfield Mezzanine, Mainsail Partners	62/100
17th	Potbelly 1977, Chicago (United States), Acquired	Quick service restaurant for sandwiches	$58M	Benchmark, Sagard & 9 others	61/100