Subway serves 5,300 sandwiches every minute. Subway serves about 5,300 sandwiches every 60 seconds, which is roughly 320,000 sandwiches every hour. Or think of it like this: 7.6 million subs every day, Business Insider reported in 2014. That’s enough to feed every person in Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago combined.
There are 38 million options to choose from. The possibilities are endless when choosing what to add to your sub. There are nearly 38 million total combinations available on the menu.
Subway uses 16 acres of lettuce every day. In a 2013 tweet, the sandwich chain wrote: “Subway uses 16 acres of lettuce per day… How many football fields is that?” If you’re curious, the answer is approximately 12.
The “BMT” was named after an actual subway. Subway’s classic “BMT” sandwich, which now stands for “Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest,” was originally named after the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit system.
Subway was started by a 17-year-old boy. In 1965, 17-year-old Fred DeLuca created Subway with a $1,000 loan from a family friend, Peter Buck.
A sub used to cost $0.49. The first Subway shop opened by the teenage entrepreneur was called “Pete’s Super Submarines” in Bridgeport, Conn. On average, a sub would cost $0.49 to $0.69. The shop sold 312 subs on opening day.
All Subway franchises smell the same. What makes all subways smell the same? Although it remains a mystery, it’s hinted that the smell comes from the bread: each store bakes its own bread by thawing it before baking it behind the counter. Supposedly, the “caramelization smell of the sugar has something to do with it,” but it’s unknown what truly makes Subway’s smell so unique.
Subway has more restaurants than McDonald’s. Subway is the world’s largest fast food chain. With nearly 44,000 restaurants in 110 countries, it has more locations than McDonald’s. Subway employs more than 410,000 people.