“It’s always nice to be recognized in any form, so I’m pretty stoked about it,” Sinelli said. “I’m looking forward to it, to that and showing my kids, my children, the importance of education. It’s something I can really use as a teaching lesson for my daughters that are 5 and 8.”

Sinelli said Michigan is approaching 10 Which Wich stores, two of which are in Ann Arbor, but none in the Lansing area. He now wants to change that. Sinelli said he walked up and down Grand River Avenue Thursday night, taking down numbers and addresses in search of the ideal location to open an East Lansing Which Wich.

“It’s great to have stores in your home state, but look, I spent four of my best years here and I want to have a great store here in East Lansing,” Sinelli said. “I’m strategically looking for the location, for the right landlord, the right partner and I want to do something special up here at the university, not only for Which Wich, but for all Spartans. … We’ll come out with a great location here, and it’ll be authentic because it’s made by a Spartan.”

Sinelli, who graduated from MSU in 1990, now has approximately 500 Which Wich locations open or developing in 12 countries and 39 states, according to information provided by the company.

“Which Wich is a sandwich shop that has a higher quality sandwich, we call them ‘superior sandwiches,’” Sinelli said. “We differentiate ourselves by, we allow the customer to do a lot of the customization through our proprietary ordering system of a printed paper bag and a red Sharpie ... the customer tells us what they want on their sandwich, gives us their name and we make it for them. And at the end of the day, it’s an awesome sandwich.”

Sinelli studied communication and played on the varsity lacrosse team, now considered a club team, at MSU. He said his time at the university was four of the best years of his life.

“Michigan State really matured me and brought out my entrepreneurial genes, and when I got out of Michigan State I really wanted to get out in the real world to apply everything I learned here,” Sinelli said. “I enjoy the challenge of the business world, the challenge of growing a business around the world, and Michigan State really gave me a real good foundation to set me up for success.”

Sinelli said he comes back to the university about twice a year to speak for classes in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and the Eli Broad College of Business.

“It’s my way of kind of connecting and giving back, because 27 years ago I was here, and I can come back and give a real perspective of what it’s like out there in the real world as opposed to the university world, because there’s a real contrast between the two,” Sinelli said.