The Global Sandwich Shop: Subway

One morning, on my way to work in Midtown Manhattan, a tourist asked me, “Do you know where the nearest subway is?” Thinking I was being a good samaritan, I directed him to the nearest sandwich shop and not the Metropolitan Transportation Authority trains. (My bad, I know.)

Two things, though. First, I hadn’t had my morning coffee, so my drowsy confusion is somewhat understandable. And second, Subway is in over 100 countries and opening their 38,000th (!) store in early November. So can you really blame me for thinking (in my early morning haze), “Hey, this tourist-gentleman, must be looking for a breakfast sandwich—because yeah, Subway serves those now!”

Nevertheless, congratulations to Subway! From a small sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut launched by a 17-year old with a $1000 loan, to one of the largest restaurant chains in the world. Subway has embraced and been embraced by different countries and cultures the world over. 

So if you’ve never had a Subway sandwich in another country. Remember this, just because you’ve experienced the green and yellow logo in your own country, doesn’t mean you won’t be met by sandwich surprises like Halal subs in the Middle East or Paneer Tika sammies in India. After all, they serve approximately 2.6 billion sandwiches a year and have over 37 million possibilities. I’m not a big math person, but I’m guessing that means you could eat years of sandwiches without ever having the same one twice!

(Source: qsrmagazine.com)