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If you are a fan of comfort food and reality television, you probably remember Tom & Chee. Short for “Tomato and Cheese,” this gourmet grilled cheese and tomato soup shop became a massive hit after appearing on Season 4 of Shark Tank in 2013.
The founders pitched a fun, simple concept: taking the classic childhood meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup and giving it a gourmet, modern twist. Their secret weapon?
The famous “Grilled Cheese Donut”. But what happens when a small, local restaurant goes viral on national television and tries to expand too fast?
The story of Tom & Chee is a rollercoaster. It features massive hype, rapid nationwide expansion, a heartbreaking financial collapse, and eventually, a smart corporate rescue.
Here is the complete 2026 update on Tom & Chee, including their true net worth, what happened to their locations, and how they completely changed their menu to survive.
What Is Tom & Chee?
Tom & Chee is a fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in handcrafted melts, homemade soups, and fresh salads.
When the company first started, its unique selling point was a highly creative spin on the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Instead of just basic bread and American cheese, they offered high-quality artisan cheeses, freshly baked breads, and a massive variety of add-ins to take the traditional sandwich to new heights.
However, as of 2026, the brand has shifted its identity. They no longer want to be known just as a “grilled cheese” shop. Instead, Tom & Chee has rebranded its menu to focus on “handcrafted melts”.
This shift was made to offer customers a more premium, filling meal by adding high-quality proteins like slow-roasted beef, roasted turkey, and bacon to almost every sandwich.
In addition to their signature melts, Tom & Chee is famous for:
- Homemade Soups: Including their classic creamy tomato soup with fresh garlic and basil.
- Fresh Salads: Such as the Green Goat salad with cranberries, goat cheese, and toasted almonds.
- Sweet Cheets: The dessert menu that still features their legendary Grilled Chee Donut.
Regardless of your diet, the restaurant tries to have something for everyone. They offer gluten-free bread, vegan cheese, and vegetarian soups. They even make their basil pesto out of sunflower seeds so that people with tree-nut allergies can safely eat there.
Who Founded Tom & Chee?
Tom & Chee was founded in 2009 by two friends, Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward, along with their wives Jennifer Quackenbush and Jenny Rachford.
The two men came from very different backgrounds, which made them a great team. Trew Quackenbush was a chef who had studied at the New England Culinary Institute.
He knew how to design a menu that was simple to make but tasted amazing. Corey Ward was a graphic designer with a strong background in marketing. He knew how to build a brand that people would love.
The pair came up with the idea for Tom & Chee at a backyard cookout. They noticed that during the cold Cincinnati winters, people naturally craved hot tomato soup and grilled cheese.
They did not start in a fancy restaurant. Instead, they set up a small pop-up food tent next to an outdoor ice-skating rink in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
They served warm, affordable food to cold and hungry ice skaters. The tent was a massive hit. The food was so good, and the Grilled Cheese Donut was so unique, that lines wrapped around the square.
Using the money they made from the tent, they opened their first real brick-and-mortar store in Cincinnati in 2010. Just six months later, they opened a second location in Newport, Kentucky.
The business was growing fast, but the founders knew they needed money to take their brand national. That is when they decided to step into the Shark Tank.
The Famous Shark Tank Pitch
Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward walked into the Shark Tank during Season 4 (Episode 26). They brought a lot of passion, charisma, and, most importantly, delicious food.
They handed out samples of their famous Grilled Cheese Donut, and the Sharks absolutely loved it. The founders explained that their corporate store had already done over $1.5 million in sales in a single year, proving that their concept was highly profitable.
The Investment Ask: They asked the Sharks for $600,000 in exchange for a 10% equity stake in the company, which valued Tom & Chee at $6 million.
The Sharks were incredibly impressed. It is very rare for all five Sharks to be interested in a company, but Tom & Chee managed to spark a bidding war.
The On-Air Deal: After some intense negotiations, Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran teamed up. They agreed to give Trew and Corey the $600,000, but they demanded a massive 30% stake in the business.
Even though it was way more equity than the founders wanted to give up, they agreed on television because they wanted the power of two Sharks behind them.
What Actually Happened After the Cameras Stopped Rolling?
Reality television does not always match real life. After the episode was filmed, the deal changed.
During the due diligence process (where investors check the company’s legal and financial records), Mark Cuban decided to back out of the deal.
He believed that Tom & Chee should focus on opening stores owned by the corporation, rather than selling franchises to independent owners.
Barbara Corcoran, however, stayed on board. She ended up investing a smaller amount of money for a smaller percentage of equity, and she remained a strong mentor for the founders.
What Happened After Shark Tank? The Rise and Fall
Appearing on Shark Tank gave Tom & Chee a boost of publicity that most businesses can only dream of. The Friday night their episode aired, they received 2,400 requests from people wanting to open a franchise. Within a few months, that number skyrocketed to over 9,000 requests.
Tom & Chee entered a period of extreme hyper-growth. At its peak, the brand exploded to 35 locations across more than 10 states.
Forbes even named them one of the 10 best businesses to ever come out of Shark Tank. In their first seven years, they made over $47 million in total sales and created more than 500 jobs.
But behind the scenes, the company was falling apart.
Why Did Tom & Chee Fail?
Growing a restaurant chain is incredibly difficult. Tom & Chee grew too fast, and they made three massive mistakes that almost destroyed the company:
- The Stores Were Too Big: The corporate team required new franchisees to build massive restaurants. The average store was 3,000 square feet and had seating for 60 to 75 people. Grilled cheese is a relatively cheap menu item. It is almost impossible to sell enough $8 sandwiches to pay the high rent and electricity bills on a 3,000-square-foot building.
- The Menu Was Too Complicated: To keep customers interested, Tom & Chee kept adding items to the menu. They introduced a “build-your-own” sandwich option with dozens of ingredients. This overwhelmed customers, who took too long to order. It also overwhelmed the kitchen staff, causing long wait times and high food waste.
- Inexperienced Franchise Owners: Because they were growing so fast, the founders sold franchises to people who had never worked in the food industry before. When these owners struggled, the corporate team did not have the infrastructure to help them.
By 2015, stores began to fail and close down. By 2017, the company had shrunk down to just 23 locations. The business ran out of money, and the bank eventually seized the company’s assets. It looked like the end of the road for Tom & Chee.
The Rescue: GSR Brands Buys Tom & Chee
In the fall of 2017, Tom & Chee was saved. The bank sold the company’s assets to GSR Brands. GSR Brands is a highly successful, family-owned franchise company based in Cincinnati. They are best known for owning Gold Star Chili, a massive chain with over 70 locations.
GSR Brands knew exactly how to run a restaurant franchise. Their CEO, Roger David, saw that Tom & Chee had a great brand name and delicious food, but terrible business operations.
When GSR Brands took over, they completely hit the reset button. They launched the “Tom & Chee 2.0” turnaround strategy, which saved the company by fixing all of the old mistakes.
The “2.0” Store Design
GSR Brands immediately stopped building massive 3,000-square-foot restaurants. The new Tom & Chee prototype stores are small, efficient, and modern.
| Feature | The Old Tom & Chee (Pre-2017) | The New Tom & Chee 2.0 (2026) |
| Store Size | 2,500 – 3,000 square feet | 1,400 – 1,800 square feet |
| Seating | 60 to 75 seats | 25 to 35 seats |
| Kitchen Tech | Large flat-top grills and hoods | High-speed, ventless combi-ovens |
| Customer Focus | Dine-in only | Pickup lanes and curbside parking |
| Menu Style | Build-your-own, overwhelming | 10 curated, chef-designed melts |
Data reflecting the operational shift under GSR Brands.
One of the biggest changes was in the kitchen. GSR Brands threw out the old, massive flat-top grills. They replaced them with high-tech “combi-ovens.”
These special ovens can toast the bread, melt the cheese, and heat up the meat all at the same exact time. This allowed them to shrink the kitchen by 10 feet, save money on equipment, and serve customers much faster.
They also realized that people in 2026 want convenience. The newest Tom & Chee locations, like the one in Oklahoma City, feature dedicated pickup lanes and express curbside parking spots so people can grab their food without leaving their cars.
Is Tom & Chee Still In Business in 2026?
Yes, Tom & Chee is absolutely still in business today. However, the company is much smaller than it was during its peak reality TV fame.
As of 2026, the company has contracted to focus only on highly profitable stores. There are approximately 7 active locations currently open. You can find Tom & Chee restaurants operating in Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas.
Their strongest market remains their hometown of Greater Cincinnati, where they operate locations in Downtown Cincinnati, West Chester, Anderson Towne Center, and Newport, Kentucky.
They have also looked at expanding into nearby states like Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, utilizing a slow and steady growth strategy instead of rushing.
Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward, the original founders, are no longer with the company. They helped with the transition when GSR Brands bought the business, but they both officially moved on in 2018 to pursue other careers.
What Is the Net Worth of Tom & Chee in 2026?
If you search the internet, you will find a lot of old blogs claiming that Tom & Chee has a net worth of $20 million to $30 million. In 2026, those numbers are highly inaccurate.
Those inflated numbers are based on the company’s total historical sales from back in 2016 when they had 35 locations. Today, with around 7 locations, the standalone brand of Tom & Chee does not have a $20 million valuation.
However, the financial security of Tom & Chee is stronger than ever. That is because they are fully owned by GSR Brands. GSR Brands is a major restaurant powerhouse that posts over $70 million in annual revenue and employs more than 1,500 people across its network.
Because Tom & Chee has the backing of this wealthy parent company, they have the financial safety net they need to slowly and sustainably open new stores.
The New 2026 Menu: Melts, Soups, and Donuts
To ensure the brand’s survival, GSR Brands had to change the way people viewed Tom & Chee. Customers used to look at the menu and think, “It’s just grilled cheese and soup. I can make that at home for cheaper”.
To fix this, the company completely revamped the menu. They removed the confusing “build-your-own” option and created a menu focused on 10 premium, chef-designed sandwiches.
They also changed their marketing language. They stopped calling their food “grilled cheese” and started calling them “Handcrafted Melts”. Almost every melt now includes a heavy protein, making it a filling meal rather than just a light snack.
Here are some of the standout items on the 2026 menu:
- The Bacon Mac & Chee: This incredibly popular melt features hearty white bread stuffed with cheddar cheese, mozzarella, crispy bacon, and their award-winning macaroni and cheese.
- The SVDP Melt: A special community-focused sandwich created with St. Vincent de Paul. It features slow-roasted beef, double pepper jack cheese, vine-ripened tomatoes, garlic aioli, and crunchy jalapeño potato chips pressed right inside the bread.
- Creamy Tomato Soup: Their famous classic soup, made fresh with garlic and basil.
- The Grilled Chee Donut: Don’t worry, the legendary Shark Tank item is still here! It features a grilled glazed donut with melted cheddar cheese in the middle. They also offer dessert versions like the S’more Donut, which is packed with graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow mascarpone.
Final Thoughts
The story of Tom & Chee is the ultimate lesson in restaurant business survival. The Shark Tank effect gave them overnight fame, but fame does not pay the rent on massive 3,000-square-foot buildings. Growing too fast almost killed the company.
Thankfully, the buyout by GSR Brands saved this beloved comfort-food chain. By shrinking the size of the stores, upgrading to high-tech combi-ovens, and transforming basic grilled cheese into premium handcrafted melts, Tom & Chee has secured its future. In 2026, they may be smaller than they were a decade ago, but they are finally running a smart, profitable, and delicious business.
