The largest fast-food chain in the United States has been closing stores at an alarming rate across the past year.
According to QSR, Subway lost a whopping 631 restaurants in 2024. While there are still plenty of Subways going — QSR said there are currently 19,502 in operation — this marks the first time in 20 years that number has dropped below 20,000.
The peak, per the site, came in 2015 when Subway had more than 27,000 stores.
The dramatic loss across the past year is actually the continuation of a years-long decline, per QSR. The site showed that the slide began in 2016 when Subway closed 357 stores.
That number skyrocketed to 866 in 2017, and then to 1,108 closures in 2018. It hit its peak in 2020 with 1,601 closures that year.
Again, though, despite the alarming losses, QSR said Subway still holds the crown as the largest restaurant chain in the country. It said Starbucks is currently in second with 16,935 stores and McDonald’s is third with 13,559.
Not all of the news is bad for Subway, though. QSR said the chain has had success with international expansion and currently has more than 37,000 restaurants worldwide.
“Subway achieved a positive global net restaurant growth for the second consecutive year,” QSR said Subway said in a statement. “With nearly 37,000 locations worldwide, our focus remains on ‘Smart Growth.’ In the U.S., we are optimizing our footprint using a strategic, data-driven approach to ensure restaurants are in the right location, image and format and operated by the right franchisees. This includes opening new restaurants as well as relocating or closing locations as needed, to ensure a consistent, high-quality and convenient guest experience.”
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