A look into Subway’s future

How many restaurants does Subway need to close?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Trevor Haynes, president of North America for the Milford, Conn.-based sandwich giant, to talk about the chain’s future.

Subway remains the largest chain in the U.S. by unit count. But it has been shrinking for years. Franchisees have closed about 6,000 locations since the brand peaked at 27,000 restaurants in 2014. Restaurants have low unit volumes and franchisees on average own just two locations.

Haynes was acting CEO in 2018 and 2019 before giving way to John Chidsey. He talks about the likelihood of more closures ahead. But he also says the closures open opportunities for new locations, though the restaurants may be different and could feature things like kiosks and vending machines.

Haynes talks about the company’s plan to recruit larger franchisees and the future of business developers, the sometimes controversial operators who act as master franchisees and take on some of the roles of the franchisor. And he talks about the company’s efforts to build unit volumes.