The Isaac's Story

Two college friends, Phil Wenger and Isaac Williams, wanted to change the world.

Isaac wanted to make the world a more beautiful place and loved food and jewelry, while Phil wanted to change the world by building community and working on progressive social issues.

One day, 25 years ago, these two friends were shopping at Central Market in Downtown Lancaster and saw a “For Rent” sign on a small donut shop. With college degrees but no real life direction or business plans, Phil and Isaac decided to open a restaurant and called it Isaac’s. The name came from one of the partners, but it also fit the food—wholesome Pennsylvania Dutch values married with Kosher Jewish quality. Isaac was raised Roman Catholic and Phil a Mennonite, but the combination launched a successful operation.

Phil turned to his father, Chester Wenger, to help fund this start-up. He co-signed a $25,000 loan to open the first Isaac’s and joined the ownership. This was the very beginning of the adventure called Isaac’s.

During the first six months, despite the friendship, the challenges of the partnership and operating a restaurant took its toll and Isaac left to pursue other interests. Phil and his father purchased all of Isaac’s shares and embarked on a strategy to grow Isaac’s into nearby communities by using people-based approaches to relationships with employees and community partnerships.

Two creative college kids came up with the flamingo as the logo, and the next logical step was dreaming up bird names for our sandwiches—because the flamingo is a bird, right? Over the years, our bird names may have changed but have always remained fun. Can anyone remember the Tufted Titmouse (our original BLT), the Dodo Bird, or the Cockatoo? Can anyone say Gooney Bird without smiling?

Over the next 20-some years, Isaac’s opened 20 restaurants in Lancaster County and nearby communities. Our sandwiches became legendary and customers remembered their favorites, not by ingredients, but by the name of the bird. In 1995, Phil bought out his father’s share and currently serves as Chairman and Founder.

The core philosophy behind our growth has centered on growing slowly while building a loyal base of committed employees and customers who want the “Isaac’s experience.” This is an experience that’s built on a desire to entertain and delight our customers with fresh and innovative food. Mixing in a dose of fun and then following through by offering some of the best benefits in the industry, we have built a group of long-term employees who see our success as their success.

As community partners, we regularly give our time and money to create a positive force in our neighborhoods, working on building partnerships with community non-profit organizations. We encourage our employees to volunteer and run this company to make the world a better place—using our food and resources to build positive relationships. This is in contrast to many of national chains that have exploded in our malls and shopping centers over the last 20 years.

We are often asked why we didn’t go “big time” by selling franchises, and the answer always remains the same. We grow using internally generated funds. Our profits are used to reward employees and give back to the community. We treat each other with respect and cherish our success together. We think this is the best way to create a concept that is sustainable and not here today and gone tomorrow.

Thanks for your support and we hope to see you at an Isaac’s soon. Your enjoyment is our success!

Cordially,

Philip R. Wenger

Founder