13 things about the Subway franchise

No matter what popular imagination might conceive, no, Subway didn't necessarily come from the mind of an entrepreneur focused on making a fortune in the fast-food business. In fact, in 1965, Fred DeLuca just wanted to accumulate enough money to study medicine - and the suggestion of a restaurant serving “submarine” sandwiches seemed like a good idea.

With $ 1, 000 on loan from the bank, DeLuca teamed up with his venture partner, Dr. Peter Buck, to "change the fast food industry landscape" - as the brand's official website puts it.

The first Subway would open in Bridgeport, Connecticut in August 1965, and success soon made Fred and Peter consider expanding their business. “In 1974, the duo already had 16 restaurants operating in Connecticut, ” the text continues. “Realizing that they would not reach the goal of 32 restaurants opened in the allotted time, they started the chain's franchise system, launching the Subway brand, which continues to grow to this day.”

And a beautiful growth indeed. According to the Business Insider website, Subway currently has more than 41, 000 stores around the globe - where an average of 7.6 million subsea sandwiches are produced daily. The next goal? 50, 000 restaurants by 2018. Certainly a lucrative business, but also full of curiosities. It is worth going below for the 13 facts listed by the site.

  • There are over 38 million possible combinations for Subway sandwiches;
  • Subway serves about 7.6 million sandwiches a day - enough to feed the entire population of the cities of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas;
  • Subway has 41, 766 stores around the globe - representing, on average, the opening of two new restaurants a day since the franchise emerged in 1965;
  • In one year Subway uses enough cheese to fill more than 600, 000 professional hockey rinks;
  • Some of the more unusual locations where there is a Subway store include a car dealership, a laundromat and a church;
  • If they were lined up, Subway-prepared sandwiches in a year would be enough to circle Earth 14 times;
  • Subway's restaurant chain uses approximately 16 acres of lettuce each year - equivalent to 35 football fields;
  • Subway maintains over 46, 000 chickens to supply the amount of eggs needed for its cookies. There are more than 14.4 million eggs per year;
  • Subway plans to have 50, 000 stores open around the globe by 2018. To do so, the chain will need to open six new stores a day;
  • Subway employs approximately 410, 000 people - the equivalent of the population of Miami, Florida (USA);
  • There are more Subway stores around the world than McDonald's;
  • Subway uses more tuna, tomatoes and frozen cookie dough than any other food company; and
  • All olive oil that is found in Subway stores is obtained by hand extraction (without any use of machinery, therefore).