Roast Beef Sandwich Inventor Targets Connecticut Taste Buds

I smell a food fight brewing Connecticut, a famous neighbor to our North has our land in sight for an expansion of their Massachusetts-based business. If you grew up near Boston's North Shore, or really like roast beef sandwiches, you probably heard of them.

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Kelly's Roast Beef  has been serving up their famous roast beef sandwiches on Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts since 1951. They currently have 3 other locations in Massachusetts, 1 in New Hampshire, and 2 in Florida. The company wants to expand, and soon we may see them show up here in Connecticut.

According to restaurantnews.com, the restaurant chain is on the lookout for multi-unit franchisees in Connecticut. Through their research, Kelly's Roast Beef believes that 12 locations are possible over the next 6 years. The cost? Well, there's a $40,000 franchising fee, and the total cost to open one is estimated to be $1.8 - 3 million dollars.

What does that investment bring with it? A seafood/burger shack with a famous claim to fame - Kelly's claims that they invented the roast beef sandwich.

There is controversy regarding that claim, according to the knower of all things - Wikipedia - The roast beef sandwich may have been around 1877 - 1900, but Kelly's absolutely had a hand in popularizing and perfecting it.

We're used to this type of origin controversy already, aren't we Connecticut? Louie's Lunch? Would you care for a steamed cheeseburger on the side?

Roast beef sandwiches aside, the rest of the Kelly's menu looks like it would fit perfectly in Danbury, Waterbury, and even Naugatuck - Lobster rolls, burgers, whole-belly clams, chicken, hot dogs, fries, etc.

We'll see Kelly's Roast Beef, we have some giants named Frankie's, Denmo's, and JJ Stacks, and the roast beef sandwiches at the Bridgewater Fair waiting to judge you.