Longtime Sandwich Chain with Jersey Locations is Sold

Subway is a brand with a history filled with twists and turns.  Today, they have taken the biggest turn yet.  Today, Subway Subs has been sold to private equity firm, Roark Capital for a reported 9.6 billion dollars.

Subway was founded by Fred DeLuca in 1965.  Fred was a college student looking to make some extra money, and asked a family friend, a nuclear physicist named Dr. Peter Buck for advise.

Dr. Buck suggested he open a sandwich shop and even agreed to lend him some seed money.  That led to them to opening their first shop in Connecticut and later 15 more in short order.

The men went on to franchise their concept leading them to becoming the largest sandwich chain in the world with over 30,000 locations, including almost 500 locations here in New Jersey.

The Subway journey hasn't been without its challenges.  The last few years has seen a string of problems for the chain.  There were unhappy franchisees, a controversy regarding their products, and of course, there was the Jared Fogel situation.

Fogel was the high-profile face of the franchise.  Fogel's claim to fame was losing a great deal of weight by sticking to a diet of Subway sandwiches.  He became a rock star of sorts with legions of fans.  Then it all came tumbling down, when he was convicted of child sex charges.

The last two years, things began improving for the chain.  Stores were upgraded, food was upgraded, and less experienced franchisees were replaced by those with a more extensive background.

The company has been looking to sell, and today, Roark Capital's offer was accepted ending 60 years of family control.

Roark Capital owns other brands such as Jimmy John's, Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings and more.

Subway agrees to sale to Roark Capital, ending nearly 6 decades of family ownership | Fox Business