Subway (restaurant)

Subway IP LLC, which does business as Subway, is an American fast-food franchise chain known for its submarine sandwiches and wraps. The company’s global headquarters are located in Shelton, Connecticut.

The chain began in 1965 when Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from his friend Peter Buck to open Pete’s Super Submarine Sandwiches in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The two later formed Doctor’s Associates Inc. to manage the growing franchise; the name came from DeLuca’s plan to use the business to fund medical school and from Buck’s doctorate in physics. After several name changes, the shop became Subway in 1972, and the first franchise location opened in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1974.

By 2015, Subway was the world’s fastest-growing franchise. As of September 2023, it operated more than 37,000 locations across over 100 countries and territories, with more than half—21,796, or 61.1%—in the United States. It is the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator globally.

The first West Coast Subway opened in Fresno, California, in 1978. The first location outside North America opened in Bahrain in December 1984, followed by Canada in 1986 and the United Kingdom in 1996. In 1989, Subway bought Cajun Joe’s, a Boston-based fried chicken and Cajun food chain, but the venture failed and most of its outlets closed by the late 1990s.

In 2004, Subway began opening inside Walmart supercenters, and by 2007 it had surpassed McDonald’s in the number of U.S. Walmart locations. Since 2007, the chain has consistently appeared on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list. At the end of 2010, Subway became the world’s largest fast-food chain, with 33,749 restaurants—1,012 more than McDonald’s. In 2015, it ranked third on the “Top Global Franchises” list and first as the “Fastest Growing Franchise.”

Suzanne Greco became president and CEO in January 2015, after her brother Fred DeLuca, the company’s first CEO, had been ill for two years. He died of leukemia in September 2015. In 2016, Subway closed hundreds of U.S. locations, marking its first net loss in outlets, though with 26,744 locations it remained the country’s most widespread restaurant chain. In July 2017, the company launched “Fresh Forward” redesigned restaurants with new branding, self-order kiosks, USB charging ports, and new menu items. That year, it closed more than 800 U.S. stores, and in April 2018 it announced plans to close about 500 more. The Washington Post reported that falling profits over three years and a 25% drop in foot traffic since 2012 drove the closures, with franchisees also blaming deep promotions for eroding profits. In January 2018, Subway invested $25 million in a rebranding campaign aimed at younger consumers. In 2019, John Chidsey became the first CEO from outside the founding family, focusing on improving existing U.S. locations rather than building new ones.

In December 2020, Subway partnered with ezCater to launch a new online catering platform. In 2023, the founding family announced plans to sell the company to private ownership, enlisting JP Morgan’s help. The company was valued at around $10 billion, and potential buyers included Goldman Sachs’ asset management division, TDR Capital, and TPG Inc. In August 2023, Subway announced that Roark Capital would buy it for $9.6 billion, making it the third-largest U.S. restaurant acquisition in history, behind Burger King’s 2014 purchase of Tim Hortons ($11.4 billion) and Inspire Brands’ 2020 acquisition of Dunkin’ Brands ($11.3 billion). In November 2023, the Federal Trade Commission investigated whether the deal would give Roark a monopoly in the sandwich shop industry, given its ownership of McAlister’s Deli and Jimmy John’s. On April 30, 2024, the FTC cleared the deal, and Roark officially acquired Subway.

On March 19, 2024, Subway signed a 10-year deal with PepsiCo, effective January 1, 2025, ending its partnership with Coca-Cola that began in 2003 and took full effect by 2005. Many international Subway locations had already switched back to Pepsi between 2015 and 2018; Pepsi had originally supplied the chain from its founding until the Coca-Cola switchover. By the end of March 2024, Subway’s Brazilian unit, operated by SouthRock Capital, filed for bankruptcy with over BRL 482 million (nearly $100 million) in debt, and SouthRock declared Chapter 15 bankruptcy in June 2024.

As of 2024, Subway is owned by the private equity firm Roark Capital. Before that, it was owned by its founding family.