Subway has been forced to close a massive 631 U.S. restaurants in 2024 alone. The fast-food chain is feeling the pinch of the US economic downturn and has its prolific dominance challenged by their dropping numbers.
At it's peak, Subway had an enormous 27,000 stores in the US alone. There are tens of thousands more abroad. But, since its peak in 2015, they have seen declining numbers year after year. Now, they have dropped below 20,000 US outlets for the first time in 20 years.
It's still the largest restaurant chain in the country, with Starbucks coming in a close second. Currently, there are 19,502 US Subway fast food stores after the latest closures. This still sits above Starbucks 17,000 but does signify a drastic decline from previous highs.
Do Less Than Foot Long Numbers Mark The End Of Subway
Subway is an internationally successful brand selling subpar sandwiches for an almost reasonable price. They're the McDonald's of sandwiches, serving something that is just about passable as what they market it as. Sure, you would never make yourself a sandwich with such processed, foul, ingredients, but in a hurry it'll fill a hole until you can eat something not made of baked processed chemicals.
When they first hit the market, the franchise exploded across the world. Everyone wanted to own a subway, and everyone wanted a cheap and easy sandwich. But things have changed, and the charm has finally begun to wear off. They're not as cheap as they once were, and the absolute saturation of stores needs to be addressed.
So, as Subway have highlighted in a statement to QSR, "In the U.S., we are optimizing our footprint using a strategic, data-driven approach to ensure restaurants are in the right location, image and format and operated by the right franchisees."
They are restructuring, pooling their money where it's most effective, and essentially trimming the fat. A fast food goliath like Subway is far from going under. But, with the current US economic downturn, they need to be careful. There have been a few casualties nobody saw coming already.
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