Frederick James Matthew DeLuca (10/3/1947-9/14/2015), born in Brooklyn NY, son of Carmela and Salvatore DeLuca moved to Bridgeport as a teen and attended the University of Bridgeport, receiving his BA Psychology in 1971. There was a reason for the six year trek to his degree.
A friend, Dr. Peter Buck, a PhD in nuclear physics, loaned the 17 year old $1,000, suggesting that he use it to start a fast food venture to help with his college expenses. The idea of a “healthful, less fattening” fast food was born marketed under the initial name of “Pete’s Super Submarines.” Radio ads sounded too much like “Pizza Marine” so Fred’s initial effort was changed to Pete’s Subway, also named for financier and partner Buck. The name was eventually changed to just “Subway” in 1968. The company was incorporated as Doctor’s Associates, Inc. in honor of Buck, not a medical doctor, and Fred who hoped to be, causing undoubted confusion on the part of many.
The first store opened in Bridgeport on August 28,1965 in a bad location. Mother Carmela ran the first shop with Fred’s Sister serving as “sandwich Artist.” The bad location dd not help him. The next two were very visible, the sixth was established in the heart of Milford lasting roughly fifty years in operation until 2019. By 1974 DeLuca had 16 outlets but was clearly short of the 32 the partners had intended in ten years. In a 2010 Interview DeLuca thought they had 24 by the end of 1975. The answer for growth would make Subway a world-wide phenomenon, Franchising.
The rest is history with the first “franchised” store opening in Wallingford, CT, in 1974. Growth was explosive as franchises numbered 100 stores by 1981, 300 the next year and 1000 in 1987. At least 1,000 new stores opened every year from 1987 through 2015.
The first international franchise came in 1984 in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. Bucking the trend, Subway survived and flourished after the the crash of 2008 and the “great Recession.” It handily added 1,153 in the U.S. alone continuing the trend. At its peak Subway offered nearly 40,000 outlets from Afghanistan to Zambia all with roughly the same menu, adjusting only slightly for some local tastes.
More than 70% of new Subway franchises were sold to existing Subway owners in the US. Subway restaurant was routinely named the Number One Franchise Opportunity in Entrepreneur Magazine’s ‘Franchise 500’ rankings. Subway won this prestigious award 15 times in 22 years.
In a 2010 interview Fred reflected on the love of his life. It had been 45 years since the founding and he looked forward to the 50th year in 2015. He saw that but not the next 50 as he stated he would still be doing this at its 100 anniversary. Always an optimist, Fred would have been 118 years old on that date. At the time of his passing, the man who revolutionized the franchise industry had an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, according to Forbes, making him the second richest person to hail in some way from Milford behind telecommunications magnate John Malone, a graduate of West Main Street school.
During the ensuing seven years since Fred’s death at age 67, Subway continued to be an international powerhouse - but cracks began to show. Franchisees complained about the new stores going up and competing in their non-existent “territories” and other costs and demands imposed by the company.
In 2023, competitor “Jersey Mikes” took the top spot in Entrepreneur Magazine. What went wrong? Not that much actually. The passing of Fred in September of 2015 was undoubtedly the most important blow to the company. His successors, mostly family, have employed JP Morgan as of 2023 looking to market the company. In April 2023, John Chidsey, CEO of Subway since 2019, announced its ninth consecutive quarter of positive sales as it continues to execute against its multi-year transformation journey.
In the first quarter of 2023, Global Results compared to the same period in 2022 were up 12.1% increase in same- store sales and up 11.4% increase in digital sales in the top performing 75% of the stores in 100 countries.
Similarly North America results, compared to the same period in 2022 were up 11.7% increase in same-store sales in the top 75% of the roughly 23,000 restaurants with digital sales up 17.9%, a company priority to improve traffic in the digital and post Covid world. Digital sales have quadrupled since 2019 and the number of franchise owners are back up to nearly 37,000 stores as part of its “smart growth” policy.
“Our continued impressive performance demonstrates that our efforts to build a better Subway and win back the hearts and minds of sandwich lovers around the globe is working,” said. “With strong sales momentum across our restaurants and a refreshed focus on strategic brand growth, there has never been a more exciting time to be part of the Subway brand,” said Chidsey. Fred’s legacy will continue.
A commonly cited issue in the grossly overstated decline of Subway is the matter of Jerod Fogle. Fogle, at the time a college student, claimed to have lost 245 pounds, by a combination of regular exercise and eating low fat SUBWAY® sandwiches for a year. The low fat menu contained 8 Subs with just 6 grams of fat or less.
Jared became a spokesman and marketing bonanza for Subway from 2000 to 2015, A huge following in the US and Canada, known as “Jared’s Army,” touted substantial weight loss. Jared however, turned out to be a double-edged sword. In July 2015, the FBI raided Fogle’s home in Zionsville, Indiana, and arrested him on charges of distribution and receipt of child porn. The same day, Subway announced they dropped Fogle as a spokesperson.
Just days later Subway celebrated 50 years by making the Guinness World record for 1,481 people simultaneously making sandwiches. Sadly, less than a month later DeLuca died after a long battle with cancer leaving behind his wife, Elisabeth, son Jonathan, granddaughter Sofia, sister and first “Sandwich Artist” Suzanne Greco, nieces, Gabriella and Jacqueline and the Subway family.
Modest and unassuming for a multi billionaire, even on his yacht, the local man was buried in St Michael’s cemetery in Stratford after the funeral at St. Mary’s Church, on Gulf St., Milford, CT.
Peter Buck died November 18, 2021 at the age of 90. Jerod Fogle is due to be released from prison in 2029 and paid approximately $1.4 million of his reputed Subway income of nearly $15 million in restitution to his victims. In prison, Jerod reportedly packed back 30 pounds.
And just last month, Subway sold itself to Roark Capital for about $9.6 billion, according to media reports, thus ending six decades of family ownership.
