Talk:TOGO'S

Pronunciation
If anyone knows the proper pronunciation of Togos ("To gos" or "Toe Goes"), please add. It's been a mystery to my friends and I for quite some time. Gantry 14:28, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)


 * well, here in its traditional home, we pronounce it "toe goes". Gentgeen 10:19, 29 October 2005 (UTC)


 * I ate there regularly in 1983 and 1984 in Sunnyvale, California. My co-workers and I pronounced it "toe goes". 2600:100C:B02A:27A7:1479:13B4:2E50:E98C (talk) 15:06, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

If anyone has any Questions
I will be glad to answer them. If there are enough random ones i'll combine pronunciation and all the others under one heading. I really am not sure how much to add, as the official Togo's page is already linked too.

Advertising Language
Please keep advertising language out of wikipedia articles. If your interest in Togos is because you work for them, and are enthusiastic about the company, we are glad to have you add any encyclopedic information you may have, but please be extra-careful about not putting in the contentless language you find in advertising or company letters such as in the following sentence:


 * More than 30 years later, Togo's is still committed to making great sandwiches. Now the bread is baked especially for Togo's and recently added to the menu is a selection of hearty soups and salads worthy of the Togo's name.

"Worthy of the x name" and "x is still committed to making great y" are phrases you should never find in a encyclopedia. They are inherently POV (and in this case sound like they were taken directly from the companies PR material). Brentt 05:44, 13 July 2006 (UTC)


 * This bit still bothers me. Sounds like we're reading it off a placemat:
 * Cobler had little money and no experience. He didn't have a business plan. He just made the kinds of sandwiches that he liked - big, fresh and custom-built - at prices even a college student could afford. Soon there were lines out the door and Togo's was well on its way to becoming successful.--Weakmassive 18:21, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Missing History and Name Origin
Previous versions of the page had more details on the history of how the restaurant started, as well as the origins of the name. Much of both are now missing. Why? (I also notice the official ToGo's web site lacks those details as well. A corporate conspiracy?) If it's a matter of verifiablity, there's got to be somewhere newspaper articles and such with that information.

For the record, I do seem to recall at the original San Jose Togo's there being an informative sign citing the name as coming from Tom and Gordon's names. Unfortunately that place is no longer there, and the replacement is a dismal hole-in-the-wall that was closed during the dinner hour. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.228.6.15 (talk) 01:40, 20 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Conspiracy?? Why? WarrenOutsky (talk) 17:58, 22 August 2011 (UTC)


 * I think the issue is just that it needs more sources. No conspiracy that I can find and believe me I would. Warren (talk) 17:27, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

The original Togo’s was opened in Marquette, Mich., in 1964 by two Northern Michigan University students, Tom Neumann and Gordon Reed. In 1966 Neumann sold his part of the business to Reed, who moved to California and in 1968 opened a Togo’s in downtown San Jose, Calif. Reed then sold the restaurant to Michael Cobler in 1971. Company leadership focused on the "1971" origin story and did not acknowledge or discuss the history before that date. (T308)

Company leadership for the first time referenced the 1968 San Jose founding date in a press release in April 2018. This was likely done to claim credit for 50 years of operation. T308 (talk) 17:01, 21 April 2018 (UTC)

I worked at two Togo's located in Santa Clara, Calif from 1983-1988. I started at the Lafayette store to train for the grand opening of the Benton and Kiely store. I worked there for about 18 months, trained into management and, eventually went back to the Lafayette location, then back to the Benton store. I had my first baby in '88 so I stopped working for a few years. Then, sometime in the early 2000's I went back as a store manager for a bit at a new location in San Jose. So, I'm here to say, in the 5+ years I worked there, the Tom and Gordon name origin was readily shared with all employees and any customers who'd care to listen. Clearly, I was there after Cobler took over and he was a prominent figure in any retelling of the Togo's Story, as we knew it in the 1980's. Cheers all! TakarasBreathing (talk) 05:15, 7 March 2022 (UTC)

Founding location unsubstantial
While local legend in San Jose is that Togo's was founded in downtown San Jose near San Jose State University, there's no solid evidence that "336 East William Street" was at the actual street number. Better evidence needs to be substantiated.107.3.162.39 (talk) 07:05, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

First San Jose Location / E William Street.
As Mentioned above, the first location was in Michigan. The second location, and first California location was at the E. William Street address. A photo exists taken in 1986 of the original location with an awning that says "The Original Togo's opened in the Spring of 1968. 336 East William Street". The building still exists today. It's now a palm reader/spiritualist business.T308 (talk) 16:58, 21 April 2018 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by T308 (talk • contribs) 16:56, 21 April 2018 (UTC)