I Got a Free Jimmy John’s Sandwich Thanks to Steve Aoki

There’s a Jimmy John’s in the building where I work. It’s on the ground floor, literally inside the building, and my go-to for whenever I need food quickly.

Yesterday, when I was there, the guy behind the registered rung me up and as I was walking away… asked me if I knew who Steve Aoki was. I said I did, and then asked to see his cellphone.

He was a little confused at first, but I convinced him to hand his phone over. And I then googled the blog post where I wrote about being mistaken for Steve Aoki.

When I handed the phone back to the guy, he laughed out loud on seeing the title. And a few moments later, three or four of the other Jimmy John employees crowded behind him, and were also laughing.

I’ve done this once before. But this was probably the fastest I’ve ever done it (using a specific domain to filter the results). Pulling this off felt like doing a complicated magic trick in public, and it felt pretty nice.

Fast forward to today. Normally on Fridays, we get lunch catered at the office. But due to a meeting that started right when the food was delivered… I missed out. There were some scraps left, but nothing I could really eat given that Liz and I are avoiding bread and rice currently, in Phase 1 fo South Beach.

How am I eating Jimmy John’s, you might ask, if I’m avoiding bread? I get the un-wich, which is a sad ghost of a sandwich – using pieces of lettuce, in lieu of bread. It’s not ideal, but it’s fast and I’ve found I can add a bunch of various vegetables to “fill the void,” as it were.

Wouldn’t you know it, the same guy was behind the register today. And on seeing me, he waved me away when I handed him my credit card. He insisted on paying for my meal, and said that the blog post was funny and fun to read (he also said that he was worried, initially, that I was mad or that I was going to put a virus on his phone).

While I still don’t quite see the resemblance (I always feel like the older, fatter version of Steve Aoki)… I’ll take it, as long as I keep getting free stuff. I’m up $6.25, so not a bad start. I really do need to get a pair of sunglasses and start walking around the city holding a large sheet cake. Maybe I can find my way into some parties.

Related:
On Being Mistaken A Lot For Popular DJ Steve Aoki: Felix Jung, 20×2 Chicago
Email, Mistaken Identity, and a Weird Sandwich
Et Tu, Jimmy John’s?