Subway Sets its Sights on 8,000 U.S. Units

The sandwich chain also has added hummus and thinner-sliced deli meats to its menu.

May 08, 2014

MILFORD, Conn. – If you don’t have a Subway nearby, you might soon, as the sandwich chain announced plans this week to add an additional 8,000 U.S. locations to its more than 26,000 American units, Bloomberg reports. The chain has more stores worldwide than McDonald’s.

“Maybe it will take 10 years or so,” said Fred DeLuca, co-founder and CEO. “If we do a good job building consumer demand, that number might change and be higher.”

Adding stores isn’t the only change Subway is making. The chain is now offering hummus as a topping in a pilot program at around 1,000 locations.

“We have to see how consumers respond to it,” said Tony Pace, chief marketing officer. The chain views hummus as a complement condiment to chicken and veggie subs. “It may warrant additional testing or expanded testing, and then we’ll see how it goes from there.”

Currently, independent franchises have offered hummus as a condiment, but if the testing goes well, it would be the first time the chickpea spread was on all of its U.S. menus. “It's something we've been talking about for the last three or four years,” said Pace in an Associated Press interview.

DeLuca also pointed out that the chain has begun testing thinner deli meat slices at some Illinois locations. With the thinner cuts, franchisees place a dozen slices of meat on a Footlong sub instead of the usual eight. “For some reason, it looks better. It looks like more meat,” he said, adding that while the Illinois franchisees were “very enthusiastic” about the thinner slices, such a change would not be available nationally for a while.

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