Fred DeLuca, who founded the sandwich company Subway and led the firm’s global expansion for five decades, has died aged 67.
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“It is with sadness that we say goodbye to Subway co-founder Fred DeLuca, who passed away on September 14”, writes executive director Illya Berecz on behalf of the board of directors and staff of the North American Association of Subway Franchisees. The restaurant was first called “Pete’s Super Submarines”, but the pair made a decision to start using the name “Subway” in 1968. He had been ill from leukemia since 2013, and a few months ago appointed his sister, Suzanne Greco, as the president of the company.
He leaves behind his wife, sister, extended family and the thousands of team members that make up Subway. “There was no way a company like ours could have added so many people and so many locations simultaneously without those development agents”, DeLuca said.
The company found itself in the middle of a controversy this summer when its long-time pitchman, Jared Fogle, agreed in August to plead guilty to charges of child pornography and traveling for illicit paid sex with minors.
After he graduated high school, Mr DeLuca had planned on becoming a doctor.
“In 1965, DeLuca was preparing to attend the University of Bridgeport, where he wanted to study medicine”, Daszkowski’s article states. Since then, Subway has grown enormously, with its current growth rate of 2,000 new stores opened worldwide annually. A video biography on the Subway website tells how DeLuca grew up in the projects and collected empty soda bottles to get money to buy comic books. It worked. In 1978, Subway opened its 100th outlet; in 1987, its 1,000th. His small sandwich shop became the largest restaurant chain in the world by shop count, now some 44,000 franchises.
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Fifteen Lessons to Start – and Run – Your Own Successful Business, DeLuca said when he started he knew nothing about making sandwiches, nor the food industry.
