Subway (stylized as SUBWAY) is an American fast food restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates Inc. Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world, with 44,280 restaurants in 110 countries and territories as of September 18, 2015. It is the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator in the world.
Subway's international headquarters is in Milford, Connecticut; five regional centers support Subway's international operations. The regional offices for European franchises are located in Amsterdam, Netherlands; the Australia and New Zealand locations are supported from Brisbane, Australia; the Asian locations are supported from offices located in Beirut, Lebanon, and Singapore; and the Latin America support center is in Miami, Florida.
In 1965, Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from friend Peter Buck to start "Pete's Super Submarines" in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in the following year they formed Doctor's Associates Inc. to oversee operations of the restaurants as the franchise expanded.[8] The holding company derives its name from DeLuca's goal to earn enough from the business to pay tuition for medical school, as well as Buck's having a doctorate in physics.[9] Doctor's Associates is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, any medical organization. In 1968, the sandwich shop was renamed "Subway".
The first Subway on the West Coast was opened in Fresno, California in 1978. The first Subway outside of North America opened in Bahrain in December 1984. The first Subway in the United Kingdom was opened in Brighton in 1996. In 2004, Subway began opening stores in Walmart supercenters, and surpassed the number of McDonald's locations inside U.S. Walmart stores in 2007. Since 2007, Subway has consistently ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Top 500 Franchises list. It ranked #2 in 2012. It also ranked #2 on the "Fastest Growing Franchise" and "Global Franchise" lists. At the end of 2010, Subway became the largest fast food chain worldwide, with 33,749 restaurants – 1,012 more than McDonald's.
