The SUBWAY® restaurant chain has again been named the Number One Franchise opportunity, as well as the Number One Global Franchise opportunity, for 2010 by Entrepreneur® magazine in its annual “Franchise 500” rankings.

This is the 17th time in the past 23 years that the SUBWAY® chain has been recognized with the overall top honor.

First established in 1980, Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” listing is considered to be the most comprehensive and influential set of rankings in the world, taking many factors into consideration, such as financial strength and stability, growth rate, size of the system and start-up costs.

This past year, the SUBWAY® chain continued its tradition of promoting healthier dining options, expanded its successful $5 footlong promotion by incorporating its value message into its permanent pricing structure and opened more than 2,000 new locations in 49 U.S. states and the District of Columbia; seven Canadian provinces; and in 67 countries.

Now, at more than 32,000 locations in 90 countries, the chain is poised to become the world’s single largest restaurant brand, in terms of number of locations.

Contributing to the brand’s growth is its ability to find new markets and adapt to unique locations. This strategy has allowed SUBWAY® restaurants to be found in spaces where competitors just could not fit or found impractical.

Richard Schragger is a multi-unit SUBWAY® franchisee in the New York City area. For the next two years, his newest store will be located on top of the world! Richard’s newest SUBWAY® restaurant will be on a crane, rising along side the construction of One World Trade Center – also known as the Freedom Tower – providing meals for construction workers as the structure rises 108 stories. At 1,776 feet, it will be the tallest building in the United States and one of the tallest buildings in the world.

“The simple operation of a SUBWAY® restaurant, its reputation for quality, low fat menu options and the fact that you do not need a grill or fryer, make it a natural fit for non-traditional locations, which not only brings our great tasting food to customers, but also provides additional business opportunities for franchisees,” said Richard, who had a background in accounting before becoming a SUBWAY® franchisee five years ago.

Also contributing to the SUBWAY® chain’s success is that it continues to keep its concept and operations simple, start up costs low and seeks franchisees who embrace the entrepreneurial spirit.

One such example is SUBWAY® franchisee and development agent Bob Hurley. As a development agent in the Boston area, Bob is responsible for seeking out prospective new franchisees for his territory, guiding them through the process of opening a SUBWAY® restaurant and acting as mentor to both the new and established small business owner’s while providing training, information on new initiatives and best practices that will help ensure a franchisees’ success.

“Coming out on top of the Franchise 500 list is quite an achievement. Doing it 17 times is an indication of the amazing accomplishments and vast opportunities that define the Subway brand,” Bob said. “We have had tremendous potential in the Boston market, where we have 175 stores there and are looking to increase that number by 130 over the next five years. Along with filling about 150,000-square-feet of retail space, opening 130 restaurants over the next five years will also provide about 1,300 additional jobs at the new restaurants.”

The SUBWAY® chain has been expanding internationally since 1984 when it opened its first overseas location in the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain. Now with more than 9,000 individually owned and operated restaurants outside of the U.S., the chain is known as a source of a wide variety of menu options that not only meet the needs of the average customer, but also honor cultural preferences and religious requirements, all while providing business opportunities to local entrepreneurs.

"Strong global support systems and brand recognition has helped us grow to almost 800 stores in Germany and are a big reason that SUBWAY® is able to maintain its distinction as the Number One Global Franchise opportunity," said Michael Pokorski, Area Development Manager for SUBWAY® restaurants in Germany. "We can attribute our success to the fact that this is a brand made up of local men and women who are committed to making their businesses work and represent hundreds of success stories throughout Germany. Along with providing German entrepreneurs with a chance to realize their dream of owning their own business, our franchisees are able to provide about 8,000 positions to jobseekers throughout the country." SUBWAY® Named Most Trusted Brand by Consumers!

According to a nationwide consumer study by Decision Analyst, more consumers trust nutritional claims made by the SUBWAY® restaurant chain when compared to all other popular quick service restaurants. Almost one-quarter (24.2%) of consumers said they "completely trust" nutritional claims made by SUBWAY® while 42% of SUBWAY customers said they chose to eat at the fast-food restaurant because it "has a good selection of healthy items."

"SUBWAY owns the nutritional claim relative to its competition, as there is a significant gap between SUBWAY and these other popular fast food/quick-service restaurants,” Diane Brewton, Senior Vice President of the Market Intelligence Division at Decision Analyst, said in a press statement. “In fact, SUBWAY is the only one of these restaurants with more people who 'completely trust' their nutritional claims than 'do not trust' them.”

Decision Analyst tracks food and beverage consumption, restaurant behavior, health attitudes, and lifestyle management via continuous surveys. Decision Analyst, based in Dallas-Fort Worth, is a leading global marketing research and analytical consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization.

The SUBWAY® brand also recently received the highest rating in Sandelman & Associates' 2009 Quick-Track Awards of Excellence for Healthy and Nutritious Food. In addition, Advertising Age magazine included SUBWAY® $5 dollar footlong sandwiches in its list of the 10 Best Products of the Decade. QSR magazine recently named the SUBWAY chain in its list of “10 Great Franchise Deals” while Black Enterprise named the brand as one of the “20 Recession Resistant Franchises.” SUBWAY® Brand Ranked Number One Provider of Healthy Options in Zagat Survey.

Zagat Survey®, the world's leading provider of consumer survey-based information on where to Eat, Drink, Stay and Play worldwide, has rated the SUBWAY® brand as the number one overall provider of “Healthy Options” in its 2009 Zagat Fast-Food Survey.

The SUBWAY® brand also received number one rankings in the "Best Service" and "Most Popular" categories for restaurant chains with 5,000 or more locations. In addition, the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise ranked in the top five in the "Top Overall" category as well as the "Best Food," "Best Facilities," and "Best Value" categories for mega-chains with 5,000 or more locations.

With ratings and reviews based on the opinions of participants from around the globe, Zagat Survey has become the world's most trusted source to help consumers make informed decisions about restaurants, nightspots, hotels, attractions and other leisure activities.

"To be ranked so highly in the Zagat Fast-Food Survey is an affirmation that we are making a difference and connecting with consumers around the world by providing them with the flavors, options, values and service that they expect and deserve," says Chris Martone, Executive Chef for the Subway restaurant chain. "We cannot rest on our laurels though, and must constantly strive to improve and be the best that we can be."

The Zagat rankings come to the Subway brand on the heels of receiving top honors from Entrepreneur magazine, which rated the sandwich purveyor as the number one Franchise Opportunity and the number one Global Franchise in the 2009 edition of it Franchise 500 rankings, an honor that the Subway Brandhas received 16 times in the past 22 years.

For the Subway chain, 2009 continues to be a stellar year. In the first quarter of 2009, the Brandopened nearly 500 new locations, spanning 42 countries, 39 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. This translates to providing about 5,000 jobs worldwide. This is especially significant during these tumultuous economic times when many well known brands are struggling. Read More... SUBWAY® Nutrition Criteria For Children's Meals and the SUBWAY® Marketing Policy For Children.

At SUBWAY® restaurants, we believe the best way to assist consumers looking to live healthy lifestyles is to provide the information and choices necessary so they can make informed meal choices. Along with providing nutritional information here on our website, we also provide this information on nutritional brochures available in our restaurants, on cups and on napkins. Our SUBWAY FRESH Fit™ and FRESH Fit for Kids™ meals were developed to fit into the American Heart Association's approach to a healthy lifestyle. In addition, 100% of Subway® kid’s meals meet nutritional criteria that are consistent with USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

SUBWAY® Nutrition Criteria For Children's Meals
Subway® recognizes the importance of providing children with a well-balanced meal that includes a variety of food groups. Our goal is to provide a meal that can fit into a daily menu that is consistent with the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Subway® kid’s pak meal includes grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein (with the exception of the Veggie Delite®) and dairy when milk is ordered.

All the kids’ meals also meet the specific nutrition criteria:

• Less than 500 calories
• Low Fat/ <30% calories from fat
• Low Saturated Fat <10% calories from saturated fat
• Low Cholesterol
• Trans Fat Free, meals contain absolutely no partially-hydrogenated oil
• Contain at least 1 serving of fruit
• Less than 5% calories from added sugar

SUBWAY® Marketing Policy For Children
Any advertising on children’s programming features the FRESH Fit for Kids™ meals, which meets the above listed nutrition criteria. FRESH Fit for Kids™ meals compliment an active lifestyle and are shown in advertising with a mini low-fat sandwich, apple slices and low fat milk. The kid’s meal automatically comes with 100% juice or low fat milk (not soda). From Desperate of Dandridge, Weight-loss hero takes it to the streets

"Have you ever been fat, fed up and desperate?” Well, according to author and weigh-loss inspiration, Debra Flinn, that statement, which appears on her website, used to describe her.

According to Debra, “I was fat—really overweight since seven years old and I continued to eat wrong.”

At 170 pounds in high school and nearly 200 pounds during college, she got caught up in yo-yo diet plans, but just couldn’t keep those excess pounds away.

But in June 2007, Debra decided to take back her life and hit the road. She walked from Cape Coral, Florida all the way to Dandridge, Tennessee—874 miles, and it only took 66 days! By the time she reached her destination, she had slimmed down from 216 pounds and a dress size of 22, to a size 16.

Her book, “From Desperate to Dandridge” documents every step of her amazing journey. She hopes that the wisdom she’s gained by working through the pains of the past, the struggles, obstacles and victories along with the weight she’s lost, will serve as inspiration to others.

SUBWAY® franchisees from three states helped sponsor her walk and provided lunches and dinners and t-shirts along the route.

Since then Debra’s been walking across a dozen states, eating SUBWAY® sandwiches and lending a hand to others along the way.

This past summer, she returned to Dandridge, and headed north to Chicago, making 15 to 20 miles a day. Her trek was capped off by a meeting with Oprah Winfrey and a taped interview. En route, Debra handed out SUBWAY® Cash Cards, donated by family and friends, to people in need.

“Next I’d like to go from Harpo Studios in Chicago to New York City, walking, eating right, and helping people.”

“Why so much walking?” Debra says, “It’s free, it gets you out of the house…I know the struggle and Jared’s diet plan really worked for me, especially when combined with walking!”