Subway opens 100th store in Northern Ireland

Given the global spread of his sandwich brand, it may be surprising to hear that Subway‘s co-founder Fred DeLuca didn’t set out to launch a global powerhouse. Instead, he opened his first store in 1965 to pay for his studies to become a medical doctor. Five decades later, the small Connecticut restaurant has grown into an international tour de force thanks to its delicious menu and a healthy franchising model. And with the opening of its 100th franchise in Northern Ireland, Subway shows no sign of slowing down.

Almost two decades since the first Subway opened in Northern Ireland, franchising veterans Muhammad Aamir and Akhlaq Akhtar are opening their third franchise in Finaghy in Belfast. “We saw a lot of potential in this location, plus I live nearby and there is a great community feel here,” Aamir said. “Akhlaq and I looked at many different franchise possibilities and spoke to franchisees and a Subway franchise made sound business sense to us. We are also passionate about the product and love the fact that there are low-fat options available.”

Akhlaq added: “It is great to see the Subway brand expanding like this in Northern Ireland and to be a part of that momentum. We are so excited to open our third Subway store and knowing it’s the 100th store in Northern Ireland is just the icing on the cake.”

The new store is a part of a push by Subway to grow its UK network to include 3,000 outlets by 2020, up from the around 2,500 stores of today. Its expansion plans were announced in early July with the aim of creating roughly 5,000 new jobs in Britain. Globally there are over 44,000 Subway stores in over 110 countries.

While DeLuca didn’t become a medical professional,” it’s safe to say that his franchise is in rude health.