Salute to the sandwich man

Originated from USA, QSR chain Subway started its journey way back in 1965 and took franchising in just nine years i.e 1974. DeLuca's journey began with a suggestion from a close-family friend Dr Peter Buck, who helped him start the first Subway sandwich shop. Peter is also Subway's Co-founder and partner. Back in July 1965, while visiting Peter and his family, at their new home in New York, both of them got into a conversation when DeLuca eventually asked him for advice on how to earn money to fund college tuition. Peter's suggestion was the turning point of DeLuca's career as he always wanted to become a Doctor. Peter advised him to open a submarine sandwich shop.

It was that moment when DeLuca decided to give it a try and borrowed $1,000 loan from Peter, and thus opened his first sandwich shop in August, 1965 at the age of 17. After some initial hiccups, the business began to pick up and did really well.

How he changed the phase of franchising

At that time when franchising was not a familiar thing to opt for, DeLuca took this route. Originally, DeLuca had rejected the idea of franchising because after the first store opening, he had set a goal of opening 32 stores within 10 years but then their expansion plans did not quite meet the timeline he had set and fell behind. That was when he reconsidered taking the franchising route. Soon, Subway restaurant count in America was touching 200 units in 1982. This encouraging trend inspired him to push the envelope further and introduce their business overseas. DeLuca truthfully believed that the franchisees who started off as single unit owners and are now successfully running multiple are the true growth drivers of brand Subway.

His words for the retirees

DeLuca always believed that if he can start off a business at 17, why can't anyone start at any age for that matter?Age is no bar if one sets one's mind to running a successful business. He strongly believed that even a 60 year old person can start a Subway. He always welcomed entrepreneurs who were keen to become a part of global Subway family.

With great admiration and courage, DeLuca left us with great reminiscences in his brand Subway. He leaves behind a lot of lessons and inspirational stories for the franchise, restaurant and food fraternity. We at Franchise India hope that his vision and unwavering drive will always live on through other victorious entrepreneurs in the future.

What you didn't know about Fred DeLuca