After 600+ Closures, Subway Plans Even More in 2025 (Is Your Store Next?)

Subway has been the go-to fast food restaurant for people who don't like fast food, but the sandwich shop known for its customizable subs is quickly losing locations, with over 600 stores closing last year alone. This drops the total number of Subways below 20,000 for the first time in two decades.

The sandwich giant has been a stomach-filling staple known for offering healthy alternatives for grabbing food on the go for cheap, but increasing prices have left many looking for creative ways to stretch fast food budgets further.

Learn everything we know about Subway's declining store numbers and their plan for going forward.

In 1965, Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from his physicist friend Peter Buck to open a sandwich shop in Connecticut that DeLuca intended to use to fund his tuition for medical school. By 1968, the restaurant was renamed Subway, and by 1974, the duo operated 16 sub shops throughout the state.

From there, they decided to begin franchising to keep growing the brand. In 2015, DeLuca handed over control of the company to his sister as he was losing a battle with cancer. Subway never truly recovered from the loss of its founder, and by 2023, the family announced Subway was being sold to private ownership.

According to a statement made to QSR Magazine, Subway is focusing on "Smart Growth" by optimizing their store footprint, "using a strategic, data-driven approach to ensure restaurants are in the right location, image and format and operated by the right franchisees". That's corporate jargon for "we aren't making enough money", which is the usual reason for store closures.

Subway closed 631 U.S. locations in 2024, dropping the total number of domestic stores down to 19,502 restaurants, the lowest it's been in years. At its peak, Subway boasted more than 27,000 stores in 2015. Since then, their numbers have been steadily dropping, with approximately 7,600 closings.

It's not just 2024 that saw a decline; 2023 had 443 stores closed, 2022 showed 571 stores closed, and 2021 had a whopping 1,043 closings, although it's likely a significant number of those can be attributed to the direct consequence of the COVID pandemic.

The company has remained tight-lipped regarding closings, saying only that they are relocating or closing locations as needed.

For instance, out of the 631 locations closed in 2024, reports out of Oregon indicate the closing stores got no warnings and were left unexpectedly and suddenly unemployed.

A store manager from one of those locations, Joanne Kennedy, told KPTV they had "No warning, no heads up, no transparency, completely and totally blindsided, every one of us". She also said that leading up to the closures, food orders were not arriving, but corporate communications insisted it was business as usual.

Oregon saw a loss of 23 different Subway locations in 2024, all of which were franchised by CapTen Enterprises and Subfecta LLC.

Subway might be shrinking in the U.S., but its global footprint is growing. An emailed statement to QSR Magazine said, "Subway achieved positive global net restaurant growth for the second consecutive year with nearly 37,000 locations worldwide".

International expansion has an additional 10,000 stores currently in the pipeline, so while the U.S. has dwindled below 20,000 Subway locations, they have opened more franchises than they've closed worldwide.

Subway isn't the only chain restaurant shuttering doors. Restaurants such as Red Robin, Red Lobster, TGI Friday's, Hooters, Denny's, and International House of Pancakes have all seen massive closures. There are several factors influencing these closings, including private equity and shrinking disposable income for many American families.

When people think of Subway, the first thing that often comes to mind is the $5 footlong. A fiver in exchange for 12 inches of delicious sandwich strikes deep into the hearts and stomachs of Americans.

Another thing people already miss is the traditional U-gouge cut of bread, sometimes called a canoe-cut. Subway claims the change in bread-cut was due to customer polling, but many believe it is because the hinge-cut is just easier for employees.

Subways have been undergoing a redesign, hoping to cater to a younger audience by providing a more modern aesthetic.

These changes include bold wall graphics, localized messages, elevated lighting, warmer wood tones, and better support for online delivery orders. Subway is leaning into the digital upgrades by providing self-serve kiosks, ordering screens, and kitchen display systems in testing locations to see what works best for customers.

The sandwich giant is expanding their menu and promotions, hoping to bring customers back. For the entire month of May 2025, customers can get any footlong for $6.99, and new menu additions include things like the Doritos Footlong Nachos, Hot Honey sauce, and an Oreo Footlong Cookie.

Hopefully, the changes in Subway will allow it to keep pace with other sandwich shop competition, although expensive redesigns may not be what customers looking to withstand economic downturns are looking for.

Still, the return to fresh ingredients and the addition of new options on the menu are changes likely to hit the spot for many customers.