Subway Store Closures
Subway now has fewer than 20,000 stores in the U.S. for the first time in 20 years, according to official franchise records.
Subway has been closing restaurants in the U.S. every year for the past eight years. In 2024 alone, it shut down 631 locations, leaving a total of 19,502 stores. Even with these closures, Subway is still the biggest restaurant chain in the country.
Subway now has 37,000 locations around the world, growing for the second year in a row outside the U.S. In a statement to CNN, the company said it will keep checking its U.S. locations carefully to make sure they are in the right places, look good, have the right setup, and are run by the right people.
Subway said it is opening new restaurants and moving or closing some locations when necessary to give customers a better, more consistent, and convenient experience.
The news about Subway closing stores comes a few months after it ended its $6.99 six-inch meal deal in November 2024 because the offer wasn’t very popular.
The deal was removed from stores on November 27 because it didn’t do well, just a few weeks after it started on National Sandwich Day (November 3). The offer included any six-inch sub along with a small drink and chips, or two cookies, all for $6.99.
Subway said the Meal Deal was created to help bring in more customers, boost sales, and increase profits for restaurants. It worked well during the test run. However, even though the deal is getting the expected number of daily purchases, it’s not bringing the overall results they had hoped for.
Subway said it carefully plans its deals by using data to meet customer needs while still helping franchise owners make a profit. The company also said it regularly tries out new offers to attract more customers and keep them coming back.
Retail companies have had a tough year too, with several JCPenney stores in seven states expected to close by the end of May.
The company mentioned that the store closures have nothing to do with its recent merger with the SPARC Group, which formed Catalyst Brands, a group of six big retailers.