Tom & Chee

Tom&Chee is a chain of restaurants in the United States, specializing in handcrafted melts, soups, salads and grilled cheese donuts. Its name is derived from tomato soup (Tom) and grilled cheese (Chee). Since its founding in Cincinnati, Ohio, Tom&Chee has grown from a temporary tent kitchen in 2009 to 15 locations. Brief HistoryIn the winter of 2009, Corey Ward and Trew Quackenbush along with their wives Jenn and Jenny, set-up a humble tent next to the ice-skating rink on Cincinnati’s Fountain Square. Tom + Chee was off and running, selling grilled cheese, soup and hot chocolate to throngs of frosty customers. As the weather warmed in 2010, Tom + Chee returned to the Square for weekday lunches and the expanded the menu to include cold gazpacho, a salad with grilled cheese croutons, and other warm weather options. Later that year, Tom&Chee opened its first brick and mortar restaurant at 133 E. Court St. in Cincinnati. Just six months later, a second location was opened across the Ohio River at Newport on the Levee in Newport, Kentucky. In 2013, Tom&Chee was featured on Shark Tank, ABC's hit television show. They have been featured three additional times on the show since their initial airing. The Shark Tank airing and additional features on Man vs Food and The Chew has provided over 27K franchisee requests to help grow their footprint.