 Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches recently received the “Circle of Honor” distinction from United Way of Lancaster County for our stellar annual Employee Campaign for the 2013 calendar year. This award applauds organizations that truly support the mission of United Way. Inclusion in the “Circle of Honor” recognizes Isaac’s quality workplace campaign, employee support of and participation in United Way activities, and other non-monetary contributions in addition to financial contributions.
 Isaac’s 2012 Workplace Campaign for the 2013 calendar year boasted a 99.6% employee participation rate (with only two employees declining participation!) which is a 2.62% increase from the previous year, and a $54,541 contribution. Isaac’s annual campaign is run by its CRAVE task force (Community Relations and Volunteering Employees) whose mission is to connect employees to their local community in a meaningful way.
On a fun side note, Isaac’s sponsored a United Way billboard announcing to the community that we choose to “Live United” by supporting the mission of United Way.
 For the past 30 years, Isaac’s Grilled Sandwiches has been known to be the destination for not just a great business lunch, but a great place for kids, too! So we decided that we wanted to do something this year to make Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® Day, on April 25th, extra special. Each year this event inspires girls and boys by helping to bring them into the workplace to explore the many career choices they have. That’s why we’re hoping to encourage parents in the South Central Pennsylvania area to take their daughters and sons with them to work by offering a special “Take Your Kid To Work (and Isaac’s) Day!” coupon on our website.
 The coupon will give a free kid’s meal, sandwich or large green salad with the purchase of a regularly-priced adult sandwich or large green salad and will be valid only on April 25th. Taking a lunch break at Isaac’s will hopefully make the day even more memorable for kids and get them dreaming about their own grown-up careers!
 Visit the official website at www.daughtersandsonstowork.org to learn more about Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® Day. To get the “Take Your Kid To Work (and Isaac’s) Day!” coupon, click HERE to go to Isaac’s website. You’ll also find a link that will take you to the Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® Activities Center where there are ideas and activities to help you plan your day.
 Next time you go to Isaac’s and order your favorite sandwich and cup of Pepperjack Tomato Soup (seriously…it goes with everything!), take a moment to see what I see because there’s more than meets the eye! That’s not just an awesome grilled sandwich…it’s also a way for Isaac’s to provide affordable health insurance to the deli worker who just prepared your food! And that hot delicious soup? Well, think of it as helping your server get a reimbursement for their gym membership. The list goes on and on. When it comes to employee benefits, Isaac’s is truly ahead of the curve.
 Since starting Isaac’s 29 years ago, taking care of his employees has always been one of Phil Wenger’s, Founder and President of Isaac’s, top priorities! Recently he shared his thoughts on health care via an interview with Lancaster Newspaper and talked in detail about many of the benefits Isaac’s offers its employees. Read the full article online at LancasterOnline.com by clicking HERE.
Isaac’s health plan includes health, dental, and vision coverage as well as a prescription drug plan. Employees who work 25-hours a week or more can participate in the health plan. Other benefits include an employer-matched 401(k) retirement plan, paid time off and so much more. And why does Isaac’s do all this? Phil answers that perfectly in the article when he says, “Our Brand Promise says that our employees are our greatest asset, and they know it. This is part of our DNA and who we are as a Company!”
 Isaac’s employees love to volunteer to help out with community projects soooo much that we formed a committee about 3 years ago called C.R.A.V.E. (Community Relationships And Volunteering Employees). The committee is made up of a representative from each Isaac’s district and they meet on a regular basis to come up with ideas for employee volunteer projects and ways to help the communities around us.
 On a chilly Sunday back on October 14th, they recruited a group of 30 Isaac’s employees and family members to volunteer at Tailwagger’s Trot, at Clipper Stadium in Lancaster, benefiting the Humane League of Lancaster County. They took care of running the entire registration center which included registering walkers and being t-shirt runners, line directors, wristband helpers, flyer distributors and parking lot attendants.
 This was the 4th Year that Isaac’s employees have helped out with the Tailwagger’s Trot and it’s definitely one of our all-time favorite volunteer projects! And it’s just one more example of our employees’ commitment to living out Isaac’s Brand Promise by being connected to our community!
 I’ve got awesome news to report…Lancaster Farmland Trust announced at its annual banquet, on October 24th, that the Jacob Mast Homestead became the 400th farm to be preserved in Lancaster County by The Trust! This is the farm that Isaac’s raised over $16,000 for, with our “Save A Farm!” campaign in August. For every cup or bowl of Fresh-Cut Corn Chowder sold during that month, we donated $1 to The Trust to go towards preserving the 103-acre farm in eastern Lancaster County.
 It was great to see Wayne and Frieda Reiter, owners of the farm, at the banquet. I had the privilege of visiting them on their beautiful farm back in the summer with my boss, Phil Wenger, and the two Karens (as I like to call them), Karen Dickerson and Karen Martynick, from The Trust, for an interview with Anne Shannon from WGAL. The history, the landscape…everything about their farm impressed me, including the Reiter’s vision of getting it preserved.
 Another highlight of the banquet was the presentation of the “Corporate Sponsor Of The Year” Award to Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches. Phil accepted the award on behalf of the Company and, during his acceptance speech, urged the audience to talk to any restaurant owners they know about holding a campaign similar to the one Isaac’s held in August, to raise even more money to go towards farmland preservation. This would definitely help The Trust in reaching their goal of preserving 100,000 acres in 2013!
 The banner outside our restaurant says it all…after 10 days of extensive renovations (and a couple of weeks of night time construction), Granite Run Isaac’s is finally OPEN! And although I might have a biased opinion (after all, I did start my Isaac’s career as a tron here), I think the renovations are FANTASTIC…what a change!
 The new entrance way will bring you into a bright roomy lobby that features a merchandise area where you can purchase the perfect gift for any Isaac’s aficionado in your life…or a lil’ sumpin’ sumpin’ for yourself! And whether you’re dining in, grabbing some takeout or picking up your online order, you’ll notice dramatic changes every which way you look! New dining room layouts, bright colors and even a snazzy grab-n-go area where you can take advantage of our free WiFi and eat your Takeout at the same time…skip eating it at your desk!
 Then there’s the artwork, the new conference room media center with an interactive whiteboard (keep that in mind for your next business meeting), the neat fish tank area…I could go on and on (I usually do but I’ll spare you…for now!)…I managed to snap a few pictures, click HERE to check them out! But why not take your whole flock out for lunch or dinner and check them out for real! And be sure to let us know what your favorite change is…post it on Isaac’s Facebook page!
 If you’ve driven past Granite Run Isaac’s on Manheim Pike in the past couple of weeks, it would have been hard not to notice that some kind of renovations project was in progress. The entrance was moved, the sign above the restaurant was taken down and some boarding went up. But on Sunday at 7pm, Sept. 23rd, Granite Run Isaac’s closed in order for the major renovation work to begin. A major overhaul to the location is planned with new kitchen and dining room layouts…including a redesign of the back board room that will make it perfect for business and group meetings.
We’ll reopen Granite Run Isaac’s on Thursday, Oct. 4th, at 10am.  Be sure to stop in and check out the new look! In the meantime, if you get an Isaac’s craving or need to place a catering order, we have several nearby Isaac’s locations to help you. Visit www.isaacsdeli.com/lancaster.asp to find the closest Isaac’s to you! Be sure to keep checking back for more updates on our website or on Isaac’s Facebook page!
 Isaac’s employees in the Harrisburg area and the Lancaster area volunteered for not one but TWO “Day of Caring!” events for the United Way this past weekend!
Our energetic employees in the Harrisburg area participated in Capital Region United Way’s “Day of Caring” on Friday, September 7th.  They assisted with weeding a flower and vegetable garden (that provided 500 lbs. of produce to a local food pantry),  painted a pavilion and lines in a parking lot, washed windows and raked leaves and sticks on the church grounds at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Mechanicsburg.
 Then on Saturday, September 8th, Isaac’s employees in Lancaster County participated in United Way of Lancaster County’s “Day of Caring!” They had a fun time sorting, putting in numerical order, and then bagging 2,000 of the 25,000 rubber duckies rescued in Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center’s Annual Rubber Duckie Race. With an organized, fool-proof system, they finished two hours early!
A big “Thank You!” to all the employees who volunteered at these 2 special events that help kick off United Way’s annual campaign. Our flock truly rocks!
I used the line once before in one of my posts but Isaac’s will truly be “down on the farm” this month! For every Fresh-Cut Corn Chowder item sold during August, we’ll donate $1 to Lancaster Farmland Trust to help preserve the Jacob Mast Homestead, a beautiful 103-acre family farm in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County. Our partnership with the Trust will not only preserve this farm but also help them in achieving a milestone of 100,000 acres of farmland preserved in Lancaster County by 2013…a first in the nation. Locals farms are being threatened by development and Isaac’s wants local food sources to remain vibrant and strong.
But that’s not all…we’re trying to use as much local produce that we can at our 20 locations, starting with sweet corn used to make Isaac’s Fresh-Cut Corn Chowder that’s grown at Good Harvest Farms, a preserved family farm in Strasburg. August’s Featured Deli Salad is Penne Caprese, a delicious pasta salad made with tomatoes from Washington Boro, Lancaster County. And save room for dessert! We’ll be serving up Linda’s Caramel Apple Pie. It’s baked locally for us and is made with three varieties of apples from a family farm in Lewisberry, York County.
 So plan on making several visits to your favorite Isaac’s during August. We hope you’ll love our soup, help us save a farm, and help us build a community to sustain all of us! And be sure to visit the Save Our Farm section on our website at www.isaacsdeli.com/Save-A-Farm to learn more about farmland preservation efforts in South Central Pennsylvania and to check out pictures of the Jacob Mast Homestead!
 Isaac’s employee spent a fun afternoon volunteering as rubber duckie rescuers at Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center’s “24th Annual Rubber Duckie Race and Festival” on Sunday, July 29th. Twenty-six employees and their children scooped 25,000 ducks from the Conestoga River!
 The employees weathered a short downpour and muddy, algae-filled waters to support an organization whose goal is to offer premier outpatient physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy to children with disabilities, developmental delays, and acquired injuries.
 A big THANK YOU to employees from Downtown Lancaster, Greenfield, Centerville, Strasburg, Granite Run, Lititz, Mt. Joy, Hanover South and Central Office! You guys ROCK! Check out more photos from this great event by clicking HERE.
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Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches recently received the “Circle of Honor” distinction from United Way of Lancaster County for our stellar annual Employee Campaign for the 2013 calendar year. This award applauds organizations that truly support the mission of United Way. Inclusion in the “Circle of Honor” recognizes Isaac’s quality workplace campaign, employee support of and participation in United Way activities, and other non-monetary contributions in addition to financial contributions.
Isaac’s 2012 Workplace Campaign for the 2013 calendar year boasted a 99.6% employee participation rate (with only two employees declining participation!) which is a 2.62% increase from the previous year, and a $54,541 contribution. Isaac’s annual campaign is run by its CRAVE task force (Community Relations and Volunteering Employees) whose mission is to connect employees to their local community in a meaningful way.
