Source: Crain’s Chicago Business, “ Potbelly’s Bryant Keil in divorce battle, seeks buyer for shares,” Shia Kapos, 20 June 2011. Separating is not easy, but if you can go about the process thoughtfully and respectfully – and with the assistance of competent and experienced counsel and/or mediator – you are less likely to find yourself in a bitter dispute such as this. What they can learn from this story, though, is that bitterness and animosity make divorce all that much harder. Naturally, most Lake County couples do not have three homes and need millions of dollars to make ends meet. He has also said he may have to sell some of his Potbelly stock to meet Sheila Keil’s financial demands. She has hinted that she thinks Bryant Keil did not voluntarily step down as Potbelly CEO in 2008, but rather quit to make his financial condition appear leaner in the divorce proceedings.įor his part, Bryant Keil has said he has had to borrow $3 million from relatives to maintain his homes in Chicago, Lake Forest and Harbor Springs, Michigan. She wants the court to order her soon-to-be-ex-husband to look for a job and to keep a log of his efforts to gain employment. Sheila Keil has accused Bryant Keil of failing to support the couple’s four children, who are between the ages of 4 and 12, and of decimating a bank account she held in her name. The two are in the process of an acrimonious divorce that has spanned three years. He has displayed less finesse in his divorce from his wife Sheila Keil, however. Keil has displayed a knack for business, helping the Chicago-based sandwich chain grow to $250 million in annual revenue and grab enough market share to challenge other sandwich giants like Subway and Jimmy John’s. Take the case of former Potbelly Sandwich Works LLC CEO and current chairman Bryant Keil. Sometimes, working with a mediator can make it go much more smoothly. Nor does divorce have to be a hurtful process. But the fact is, divorce does not have to be expensive – but it can be equally taxing for wealthy people if they are not careful as they go about the process. went public in 2013.People often comment on how difficult divorce is for those of limited means. Investors watch the effect of rising food costs on the company's revenue, as well as if the number of new Potbelly locations opened each year matches the number the company projects. The company also has franchised locations in the U.K., Canada and the Middle East.
The company has more than 440 shops in 29 states and the District of Columbia, including company-owned and franchised locations. One day, Keil struck up a conversation with the owner and asked him why he hadn’t opened more stores, and the owner told him he hadn’t met the right person yet. Besides the kitschy decor, Potbelly restaurants are also known for hosting performances by local musicians. Bryant Keil was intrigued by a little sandwich shop in Chicago where he was a frequent visitor and often stood in lines out the door. Potbelly offers catering services, and customers can place orders online for pickup and delivery from certain locations. They offer vegetarian and vegan options, as well as chicken with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Potbelly Sandwich Shop restaurants sell toasted sandwiches, salads, soups, chili, cookies, milkshakes, malts and smoothies. The antique store transitioned into a neighborhood sandwich shop, and after being bought by entrepreneur Bryant Keil in 1996, went on to become a chain.
He began making sandwiches for customers to bring in more business, and soon the line of people wanting sandwiches was out the door. Original owner Peter Hastings opened the store in 1977, not only selling antiques, but also refurbishing antique potbelly stoves. Each of its sandwich restaurants is decorated with local artifacts and artwork originally crafted items, such as signs and mosaic table tops and a real cast-iron potbelly stove as a nod to the company's beginning as a small antique shop in Chicago. is a company that is in touch with its roots.