Potbelly Sandwich Works has opened its newest Chicagoland location at 27 S. Western Ave in Carpentersville, placing a fresh sandwich counter directly next to the cleared footprint of the former Spring Hill Mall. The shop is now serving its full menu of sandwiches, soups, salads and shakes daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The store is owned by franchisees Anand Patel and Kevin Patel, who opened their first joint Potbelly location in Aurora earlier in 2026 before bringing the concept to Carpentersville, according to a Potbelly news release cited by Shaw Local. Anand Patel started working in the restaurant industry at age 16 and now brings more than a decade of hands-on experience to the business, per the same release. He said opening the Aurora shop gave him firsthand experience of Chicagoland's connection with Potbelly, and that the Carpentersville store aims to build local connections and lasting relationships.
Customers can order ahead through potbelly.com, the Potbelly app or third-party delivery services, and the same channels handle delivery and catering orders. Potbelly already counts more than 20 locations across Chicago's north and northwestern suburbs, including spots in Crystal Lake, Algonquin, South Barrington and South Elgin, according to the release relayed by the outlet.
A Grand Opening Built Around Free Food
Potbelly is saving its official celebration for September 17, when the Carpentersville location will host a grand opening from 10 a.m. to noon featuring a ribbon cutting and a game called Potbelly Perks Plinko, which offers free food, merchandise and other prizes. The first 50 guests that day will receive free Potbelly for a year, the news release states.
Building Next to a Mall's Demolished Legacy
The new sandwich shop sits near the former site of Spring Hill Mall, which was demolished in 2025. The enclosed shopping center originally opened in October 1980 as a regional destination spanning more than 1.3 million square feet across West Dundee and Carpentersville, developed by Sears' real estate arm Homart Development, according to Wikipedia. The mall closed permanently to retail operations in March 2024, a milestone Hoodline previously covered alongside West Dundee's relocation assistance for affected local businesses.
The Village of West Dundee spent more than $10 million to purchase and clear the site, including $7 million for the core mall structure and another $3.25 million for the Sears and Macy's anchor properties, according to the Daily Herald. Standalone anchors including a Cinemark Theater and a Kohl's store remain open under separate lease agreements even though the main enclosed mall is gone, the paper reports. Local leaders are now seeking public input on redeveloping the former mall site, and in June, West Dundee trustees previewed preliminary concept designs for turning the cleared 100-acre property into a mixed-use residential and commercial hub, per the same Daily Herald reporting.
A Chicago Chain Expanding on Fresh Capital
Potbelly Sandwich Works traces its roots to 1977, when Peter Hastings and his wife began selling toasted sub sandwiches out of a Lincoln Park antique shop, heating the bread in a refurbished potbelly stove, according to Chowhound. A regular customer, Bryant Keil, bought the single shop in 1996 for $1.7 million and scaled it into the Chicago-based chain now opening in Carpentersville.
That growth got a fresh jolt in 2025 when Atlanta-based convenience store operator RaceTrac acquired Potbelly Corporation for $566 million in an all-cash deal, taking the chain private, as reported by Restaurant Dive. With that capital behind it, Potbelly projected opening 50 new locations in 2026 to surpass 500 total units, part of a Franchise Growth Acceleration Initiative aimed at eventually reaching 2,000 locations nationwide, with plans to scale toward more than 100 openings a year by 2027. Systemwide, Potbelly shops average roughly $1.3 million in annual sales, with digital ordering and loyalty app rewards now driving more than 40% of sales.
The Carpentersville opening fits a pattern for the Patels, who used their Aurora store on Kirk Road as a springboard before expanding into Kane County, a step Hoodline detailed in its coverage of the Aurora grand opening. Carpentersville itself, located in northern Kane County roughly 40 miles northwest of Chicago, has an estimated population of 37,346 residents and a median household income of $86,917, according to U.S. Census Bureau survey data. Whether the new sandwich counter helps anchor whatever eventually replaces Spring Hill Mall next door remains to be seen as West Dundee's redevelopment plans continue to take shape.
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