Subway El Cajon CA

Subway started with a desire to succeed and a dedication to win. In 1965 hard-working 17-year old Fred De Luca was concerned about how he was going to pay for his college education. He approached Dr. Peter Buck who was a family friend and asked for advice hoping to get some help. Dr. Buck surprised him by expressing he should open up a sandwich shop and Fred was curious and interested enough to inspire Dr. Buck to invest $1,000 dollars on him. He explained what he needed to do and that he would back him up. The money from the sandwich shop would help him go to college. The first Subway was opened in Bridgeport, CT under the name Pete’s Submarines. The name was later changed to Pete’s Subs and finally just Subway. Fred and Peter’s goal was to open up 32 shops within 10 years. In 1965 they founded Doctor’s Associates Inc to run their intended chain. They decorated their sandwich shop with NY subway pictures and created the theme that’s still prevalent today. Eight years passed by and Fred felt they were behind schedule because they only had 16 shops.

The partners decided to franchise and expand their stores beyond the Bridgeport region and Fred convinced his friend Brian Dixon to be the first franchisee. At first he was reluctant to take a chance until he lost his job and decided to just go with it. Franchising finally began in 1974. Franchising proved to be a hit. By 1982 Subway had 200 stores. That’s when Frank got serious and set a goal to reach 5,000 stores by 1994. In 1984 they went global and opened their first international store in Bahrain, a small island country in the Persian Golf. Today this American fast-food franchise is the largest single brand chain with over 33,048 stores in 91 countries. Their main headquarters office is in Milford, CT and there are 5 regional centers around the world to support Subway’s growing international operations.

Much of Subway's rapid growth can be attributed to its uncommon business model. Unlike most franchisors, the parent company does not operate any restaurants. Local franchisees operate the stores, and in most markets Subway enters into a contract with a franchisee to be its Development Agent for that market. The Development Agent is then responsible for developing new locations, evaluating stores on at least a monthly basis, and assisting franchisees with whatever needs they may have. DAI takes an 8% royalty on all net sales from each store. Contrary to other major franchisers, Subway's parent company does not make any contribution towards advertising the chain. A percentage of net sales are also collected for the Franchisee Advertising Fund, usually around 4.5 percent. A group of locally elected franchisees decide how to reach their markets. Subway does provide extensive and continuing training on product development, advertising, field support and so much more. Subway also rolls out national ads that focus on new developments and sponsor NASCAR and other sports for visibility.

Learn more about Subway’s menu items and nutritional values, catering deals and franchising opportunities at www.subway.com.