The Great American Hero is Dead. Again.

After a ballyhooed reopening and rebranding of Great American Hero under the ownership of Jacob Cox and Danny Wilson in September 2022, the beloved Dallas sandwich shop has closed.

The lone location in Timber Creek Crossing, at the corner of Northwest Highway and Skillman Street, served its last sandwich in late May.

“Our bread maker went out of business right after we opened the new location,” Cox said via text. “With lettuce and turkey and other additional items tripling in cost and volume being down, we just never could get her above water."
The closure doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Great American Hero for good. Cox says that they are looking to open in other markets eventually. For now, though, they are focusing on their other ventures.

In 2021, Cox and Wilson bought the Great American Hero brand from longtime owner Dominick Oliverie. After 47 years in business, Oliverie planned to retire, which meant shutting down his landmark sandwich operation for good.

News of Oliverie’s plans to close Hero spread fast. Patrons filled the wooden booths and drive-thru line of the colorful building on Lemmon Avenue, and Oliverie fielded multiple inquiries to take over Great American Hero in his stead.

Cox and Wilson won Oliverie over and briefly took over operations on Lemmon in 2022 before an agreement with property owner Leland Burk forced them to close the quirky location.

The reopening of Hero in Northeast Dallas initially held promise. The menu retained the same fresh ingredients, and the sandwiches lived up to Oliverie's lofty standards. But as Cox notes, the difficulties soon mounted.

6216 Retail Rd., where Great American Hero was located, hasn’t been great for businesses. Multiple fast-food chains, including Captain D’s and Del Taco, have come and gone since Trammell Crow Co. opened Timber Creek Crossing in 2011.

With Great American Hero again closed, Dallas is without one of its storied sandwich institutions.