Construction crews were seen working on the new Jersey Mike's Subs restaurant in Princeton on September 8, 2026. The building, going up at 1839 N. Main St. at the corner of Illinois Route 26 and Backbone Road, is now showing visible construction progress.
The project's timeline is not detailed in the available sources. As reported by Shaw Local, photos published Tuesday, September 8, show crews actively working on the structure.
Jersey Mike's won't be occupying the building alone. The two-tenant commercial structure will include Panchero's Mexican Grill as well.
A Growing Commercial Corner
The new building sits directly next to a 12,000-square-foot Aldi grocery store that celebrated its grand opening at Backbone Road and North Main Street in November 2025. Together, the projects have turned the North Main Street and Backbone Road junction into one of Princeton's more active pockets of retail development along the Route 26 corridor.
City officials have put real numbers behind that growth. Princeton building permits, including those for the two-unit structure now housing Jersey Mike's and Panchero's, contributed to roughly $2.725 million in total permitted commercial investment reported across the city between January and July 2026, according to figures city staff presented at a July city council meeting and detailed by Citizen Portal.
Hiring Underway as Opening Nears
With construction underway, hiring details for the Princeton store were not provided in the available sources.
The available sources do not detail any community-related activity tied to the Princeton store.
Princeton, Illinois, in Bureau County, is the setting for the planned store. The available sources do not provide population or income figures, describe the city as an Interstate 80 market, or detail the chain's statewide and national footprint or recent openings in Decatur and Peoria.
For now, exactly when Panchero's will open its doors alongside Jersey Mike's remains unclear. What is clear, based on the latest construction photos, is that construction is underway.
