In 1965, 17-year-old Fred DeLuca opened a small sandwich shop in Bridgeport to pay for college, today his brand is one of the largest fast food chains with over 35,000 outlets in 100+ countries

Few food businesses become as big as Subway. But you will be surprised to know that the sandwich brand was started by a nearly broke teenager on the simplest of ideas. The brand's journey began in 1965, when 17-year-old Fred DeLuca opened a sandwich shop to help pay for college. DeLuca got the idea from family friend Peter Buck, who put up $1,000 to start the business.

The first Subway shop

The first shop came up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was called "Pete's Super Submarines," named after Buck. It was marketed as a place selling fresh, affordable, and made-to-order sandwiches, with even its priciest sub costing 69 cents, Subway says.


The name was changed to the much catchier Subway in 1968, according to the Associated Press. Interestingly, the business was never intended to become a world-famous fast food giant: DeLuca had planned to become a doctor and opened the shop only to fund his medical studies. Buck, a nuclear physicist, once shared that he saw no profit in his first 15 years in the business.

DeLuca was considered a hands-on boss: He personally signed company checks, traveled the country in an old car, and entered Subway outlets incognito to test the food and talk with customers, according to The New York Times.

The turning point for Subway

The turning point for Subway came when the founders decided to aggressively hand out franchises. The results of that decision were terrific. The first overseas Subway outlet came up in Bahrain in 1984. By 1978, thirteen years since the first shop was opened, Subway had a total of 100 outlets.

Over the next decade, a thousand outlets had come up in countries around the world. Stores kept opening relentlessly, and more than 8,000 outlets were operational by 1994, AP reported.

In 2002, Subway overtook McDonald's in terms of store count in the US. At the end of 2010, the sandwich brand had 33,749 restaurants worldwide, surpassing McD which had 32,737 outlets.

The Fogle effect

Another growth stimulator for Subway was Jared Fogle, who became Subway's spokesman in 2000, starring in ads where he said he lost weight eating Subway sandwiches. Subway's parent company had an estimated 2012 revenue of $18 billion, with co-founder DeLuca ranking 259th on Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in the US.

The downfall phase

2015 was a particularly bad year for Subway. The founder, DeLuca, who had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2013, died on September 14, 2015. At the time, Subway had over 44,000 franchises in more than 100 countries.

Earlier that year, DeLuca's younger sister, Suzanne Greco, had taken over as president and started running day-to-day operations. Then came a period of contraction in Subway's operations, with hundreds of store closures taking place over the coming years.

Also in 2015, Subway cut ties with pitchman Fogle after his home was searched in connection to a child pornography investigation. He pleaded guilty the same year.

Subway moves out of family

In 2019, there was a big change in the way Subway had worked for decades as John Chidsey became the first CEO from outside a member of the founding family. In August 2023, Subway announced that the private equity firm Roark Capital would acquire it for $9.6 billion. The deal was closed on April 30, 2024, bringing to an end the founding families' nearly six-decade ownership.

Jonathan Fitzpatrick became the CEO of Subway in July 2025. He has since done away with the global chief marketing officer (CMO) role in favour of regional control, naming Jeff Klein as the CMO for US. Peter Buck, the other founder, passed away in November 2021 at the age of 90. Beyond the food business, Buck was also one of the largest timberland owners in Maine, holding over 1.2 million acres. He died a billionaire, with Forbes putting his net worth at $1.7 billion at the time.