You know that sandwich shop where you used to grab lunch every week? There’s a real chance it might not be there next year. The sandwich chain business is going through some seriously rough times right now, and some of the names you’ve known for years are closing stores left and right. From the biggest chains in America to smaller regional favorites, a lot of places are struggling to stay open. Some have already filed for bankruptcy, others are down to just a handful of locations, and a few are making desperate changes to try to survive.
Subway is closing hundreds of locations every year
This one might surprise you because Subway is literally the biggest restaurant chain in the country. They have more locations than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined. But that doesn’t mean everything is going great behind the scenes. The truth is, Subway has been closing stores at an alarming rate for the past few years. They peaked at around 27,000 locations back in 2015, and it’s been downhill since then. In 2024 alone, they shut down 631 restaurants across the United States.
The problems run pretty deep for Subway. For starters, none of their restaurants are actually owned by the company itself. They’re all franchises, which means individual owners run them and pay hefty fees back to Subway corporate. We’re talking about an 8% royalty fee plus a 4% advertising fee on everything they sell. That’s a lot of money going out the door before the owner even pays their rent or employees. Even worse, Subway has a habit of putting stores way too close to each other, so franchise owners end up competing with other Subway locations for the same customers. The chain also got sold to a private equity firm in 2023 for $9.6 billion, and there’s been a ton of turnover with executives, which usually isn’t a good sign.
Quiznos went from 4,700 stores to barely 150
Remember when Quiznos was everywhere? They were the hot new thing in the early 2000s because they toasted their subs, which made them different from Subway back when Subway only did cold sandwiches. At their peak, Quiznos had 4,700 locations across America. Today? They’re down to about 148 stores. That’s a drop of over 95%, which is absolutely brutal. Some people call it one of the biggest restaurant chain failures in history, and it’s hard to argue with that.
So what went wrong with Quiznos? Pretty much everything. The whole business model was built on charging franchise owners really high prices for supplies, which made it nearly impossible for them to turn a profit. By 2007, franchisees were so angry they were literally suing the company and forming their own associations to fight back. Then in 2006, a private equity firm bought into Quiznos and loaded it up with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. When the 2008 recession hit, the chain couldn’t handle it. They closed 700 locations in 2009 and another 800 in 2010. By the time Quiznos filed for bankruptcy in 2014, they owed $875 million. The chain never really recovered from that mess.
Blimpie lost over 90% of its restaurants
Blimpie has been around since 1964, when three guys in Hoboken, New Jersey borrowed $2,500 to open their first sandwich shop. They actually copied another place called Mike’s Submarines, which later became Jersey Mike’s. The business took off pretty quickly, and they sold their first franchise within a year. By 2002, Blimpie had expanded to around 2,000 locations in the U.S. and even some international spots. That’s when things started falling apart.
The chain made some really bad decisions about where to put their restaurants. They tried opening in convenience stores, kiosks, and even carts, thinking they could make money in those weird locations. It totally backfired. Between mid-2000 and mid-2001, Blimpie closed 155 underperforming locations, and about 70% of those were in these non-traditional spots. The chain got sold to a private investor group in 2002 and closed another 200 stores before getting sold again in 2006. Today, Blimpie might have as few as 200 locations left in the entire country. Poor management and trying to grow too fast in the wrong places basically killed what was once a thriving sandwich empire.
Au Bon Pain closed its last Boston location
The name Au Bon Pain means “where the good bread’s at” in French, and the chain started out in Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace back in 1978. Originally, they were trying to sell ovens, but the owner quickly realized that selling baked goods was way more profitable than selling baking equipment. The chain grew over the years to include sandwiches, soups, salads, and fancy coffee alongside their French bakery items. By 2012, Au Bon Pain had expanded to more than 200 locations across the country.
But here’s the kicker: in 2024, Au Bon Pain closed its last location in Boston, the city where it was born. That’s like Starbucks closing all its Seattle stores. Today, the chain is down to just 30 locations in 12 states, mostly in airports. The decline seems to be tied to weak sales and the lasting damage from COVID-19. What makes this story even stranger is that Au Bon Pain sold off a bunch of its holdings back in 1999 to focus on a new concept called Panera Bread. Then Panera bought Au Bon Pain back in 2017, and the chain has been shrinking ever since. It’s a sad ending for a place that was once packed with people grabbing fresh pastries and sandwiches.
Così filed for bankruptcy twice and switched to catering
Così started in Paris back in 1989 and came to New York City in 1996. Their big thing was flatbread sandwiches baked in open-flame stone-hearth ovens using some old family recipe. In 1999, they merged with a coffeehouse and bar concept called Xando to try to attract more than just the lunch crowd. At one point, Così had over 100 locations spread across 16 states, plus spots in Washington D.C., Costa Rica, and even the United Arab Emirates.
Fast forward to today, and Così is down to just 14 locations in the U.S. The chain has declared bankruptcy not once but twice. The first time was in 2016, when they closed 29 company-operated stores trying to restructure. Their main problem was growing too fast and opening too many restaurants that couldn’t turn a profit. Then in early 2020, Così filed for bankruptcy again and announced they were ditching the traditional restaurant model to focus on catering instead. So if you remember going to a Così location for lunch, there’s a good chance it’s not there anymore, and the few that remain are hanging on by a thread.
Which Wich lost more than half its stores since 2018
Which Wich Superior Sandwiches opened in Dallas, Texas in 2003, and get this: it was actually inside a refurbished old Subway location. Their whole thing was customization. You could build your sandwich exactly how you wanted it, and they had everything from their loaded Wicked sandwich with turkey, ham, roast beef, pepperoni, bacon, and cheese, to simpler options like tuna salad. The concept really took off, and by 2018, Which Wich had grown to more than 430 locations across the United States.
Then everything went south. The COVID-19 pandemic absolutely hammered the chain because fewer people were going out to eat. With less foot traffic, a lot of locations couldn’t survive. Some franchisees decided to get out of the business, and when leases expired, owners chose not to renew them. By 2023, the chain was down to about 220 locations. As of now, Which Wich has just over 130 stores left in the U.S. That’s a loss of more than 300 restaurants in just a few years. People who used to go there all the time say it was one of the best hot sandwich chains around, but it’s getting harder and harder to find one near you.
Panera Bread is ditching its fresh dough facilities
Panera Bread started as St. Louis Bread Company back in 1987, and they built their whole reputation on using a special sourdough starter from San Francisco that they still use today. The chain grew into a bakery-cafe combo serving fresh bread, sandwiches, soups, and salads. For years, one of Panera’s biggest selling points was that they baked their bread fresh in-house every day. That’s about to change in a major way.
In 2024, Panera launched its biggest menu makeover ever, which seems like a sign that things aren’t totally stable. More importantly, the chain announced it’s closing all of its fresh dough facilities between 2025 and 2027. Instead of baking bread from scratch, Panera is switching to par-baked bread, which means the bread will be half-baked and frozen by outside companies, then finished at individual Panera locations. This is a huge shift away from what made Panera special in the first place. On top of that, several underperforming franchise locations have been closing around the country. When a chain that’s known for fresh bread stops making fresh bread, you have to wonder what’s next.
Eegee’s filed for bankruptcy and owes millions
Eegee’s is an Arizona chain that’s famous for its frozen fruit drinks, but they also sell toasted sandwiches and cold subs with stuff like spicy roast beef, turkey provolone, and meatball subs. The whole thing started in 1971 as a vending truck selling frozen drinks at high schools and sports events. Eventually, they opened real stores, and by 2018, there were 24 Eegee’s locations. That’s when a private equity firm called 39 North Capital bought the company and started opening more stores, bringing the total to 35 by 2022.
Things went downhill fast after that. In September 2023 alone, the company closed three locations. By 2024, Eegee’s had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They blamed COVID-19, inflation, labor shortages, and high maintenance costs for their financial troubles. When the bankruptcy papers were filed, Eegee’s owed about $3.1 million in unsecured debts and was in a legal fight with their food distributor Sysco. The chain is now down to 25 locations, and it’s unclear if they’ll be able to turn things around. For people in Arizona who grew up on Eegee’s drinks and sandwiches, this is pretty devastating news.
Jerry’s Subs and Pizza went from 130 stores to just three
Jerry’s Subs and Pizza was a beloved chain in Maryland and Virginia, the kind of place where people would go for a good cheesesteak or a solid sub. At its peak, Jerry’s had 130 locations spread across the region. It was a local institution, the type of restaurant where families would eat regularly and everyone knew what to order. By 2015, though, the chain was clearly in trouble and struggling to stay in business.
As of July 2024, there are only three Jerry’s Subs and Pizza locations still open. That’s a collapse of over 97% of the chain. People who loved Jerry’s are heartbroken about it. Some folks on Reddit talk about visiting the remaining locations just to keep them in business because they don’t want to see them disappear completely. One person mentioned a location in Burtonsville run by a really nice guy who’s trying to carry on the tradition. It’s one of those sad stories where a regional favorite that meant a lot to people just couldn’t compete in the modern restaurant world. If you’re in Maryland or Virginia and there’s still a Jerry’s near you, it might not be there much longer.
The sandwich chain business is tougher than it looks, and even places that seemed like they’d be around forever are closing down or barely hanging on. Whether it’s bad management, too much debt, or just not being able to keep up with changing tastes, a lot of these chains are fighting for survival. The next time you pass by your favorite sandwich shop, you might want to stop in while you still can. There’s no guarantee it’ll be there next year.
