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Quiz Holdings, LLC,
doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
Quiznos, is an American franchised fast-food restaurant based in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, that specializes in offering toasted
submarine sandwiches A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, hoagie (Mid-Atlantic American English, Philadelphia metropolitan area and Western Pennsylvania English), hero (New York City English), Italian (Maine accent, Maine English), grinder (New England Eng ...
. It was founded in 1981 by Jimmy Lambatos and sold to Rick and Richard Schaden ten years later, before growing to nearly 5,000 restaurants afterwards. , Quiznos was the second-largest
submarine sandwich A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, hoagie ( Philadelphia metropolitan area and Western Pennsylvania English), hero ( New York City English), Italian ( Maine English), grinder (New England English), wedge (Westchester, NY), or a spuc ...
shop chain in North America, behind Subway. A 2016 survey indicated that Quiznos was the ninth-largest submarine sandwich shop chain based on sales. The publications ''Restaurant Business'' and Mashed.com reported in mid-2018 that Quiznos had only 400 locations remaining by 2017 after a high of 4,700 locations in 2007 just a decade earlier, while ''
Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
'' reported in May 2018 that Quiznos had 1,500 locations across the U.S.


History


Early history

The first Quiznos restaurant was opened in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, by founder Jimmy Lambatos. At the time, Lambatos was an experienced chef, having previously worked as an executive chef for the Colorado Mine Co. Steakhouse, and having founded the Italian restaurant Footers in 1978. He founded Quiznos with partner Todd Disner in the spring of 1981. The first location was at the corner of 13th and Grant Streets in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of the city. According to Kevin Jenkins, "It was there that recipes for Quiznos special baguette-style bread, special dressings and unique recipes were created." According to Patrick Sweeney, "The sandwich shop earned a following for its toasted subs that Lambatos said were inspired by the oven-baked sandwiches he enjoyed while growing up in New York." Lambatos said of his decision to toast the submarine sandwiches at the first Quiznos that, "it's a signature type of thing. Heating anything brings out the flavors in food products." The restaurant menu featured toasted submarine sandwiches, as well as salads, soups, and desserts.


Expansion

After two years, the restaurant started offering franchises to facilitate expansion offering its first franchises in 1983. The franchises were offered under the name Quiznos American, Inc. By 1987, 12 Quiznos restaurant locations were operating in the United States. That year, Rick Schaden, at the age of 23, and his father, aviation attorney Richard Schaden, opened their first Quiznos franchise in a Boulder, Colorado, shopping center. They opened three additional restaurants before purchasing the 18-restaurant chain from the founders in January 1991 and renamed it the Quiznos Franchise Corp. Rick Schaden became the president, and then CEO, of Quiznos after the purchase. Jenkins wrote that Schaden, "began building a professional infrastructure to support franchise owners that included volume purchasing, standardized training, and operations procedures, as well as marketing support." Quiznos was taken public in February 1994, with an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
of one million shares of stock at $5 per share, resulting in a $4.4 million yield. By the end of 1995, Quiznos had 103 different locations. In 1997, Quiznos became the number-three submarine sandwich franchise in the world, with 278 locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The following year, Quiznos Canada acquired the master franchise rights to Quiznos restaurants in Canada, as well as the master rights in the United Kingdom in 1999. Glenvista Enterprises then acquired the rights for several states in Australia. KMN USA LLC acquired the franchise rights for Japan, opening its first location in early 1999. The company again went private in June 2001. In 2005, the company partnered with Ray Wilson to open a new chain of fitness clubs called 123 Fit. At its peak in 2007, there were more than 5,000 Quiznos franchise locations. In 2014, Quiznos opened locations in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.


International expansion

The first location in Canada (and outside of the United States) opened in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in 1996. The first European location opened in 2001 in
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
in the United Kingdom. In 2002,
Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was t ...
acquired the rights to the brand for franchises in Australia, and later, New Zealand, but was unsuccessful in launching the chain in either country. The first location in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
opened in Monterrey in 2002. The first location in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
opened in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
in 2011, followed by the first location in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
opened in 2012. In 2013, Quiznos opened its first two locations in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
during the same weekend in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Quiznos opened its first
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
location in
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
and also its first
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
location in Abu Dhabi in September 2014. Quiznos exited the Taiwan market in July 2018 based on a post on the Quiznostaiwan Facebook page. Quiznos also operated restaurants across Ireland, operated by
Supermacs Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in the West of Ireland. As of 2019, the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout Irelan ...
. Today, all of these have been replaced by Supersubs and the only remaining Quiznos is located in Dublin city.


Restructuring

Between 2007 and 2009, 1,000 Quiznos stores in the United States closed. After the closure of around 2,000 restaurants during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, a majority stake in the company was purchased by
Avenue Capital Group Avenue Capital Group is an American multinational investment firm focusing on distressed securities and private equity with regional teams focusing on opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm operates as both a private equ ...
of New York in January 2012. According to Ed Sealover, the purchase was done in "a deal that eliminated about one-third of the company's $900 million debt and infused about $150 million cash into the company." Avenue Capital Group brought on turnaround specialist Harsha V. Agadi as Quiznos executive chairman. They also brought on Stuart Mathis as CEO, and the former president of The UPS Store stated that the company would try to counteract shrinking sales by promoting "the quality of its food."


Bankruptcy

On March 14, 2014, Quiznos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado. Quiznos said it would continue operating while it restructured its debt and made operational improvements. Quiznos emerged from bankruptcy about four months later on June 30, 2014, and reduced its debt by approximately $400 million.


Post-bankruptcy

On December 1, 2015, Quiznos opened a concept restaurant called Quiznos Grill hoping to re-brand its products and increase menu offerings. Initial reviews of this restaurant highlighted the high price (US$20) once items were added to the sandwich (vegetables, cheese, etc.) or meal (chips, drinks, etc.). In late 2016, the Quiznos Grill concept was abandoned and relaunched as Zeps Epiq Sandwiches. Some of the Quiznos Grill sandwiches remained on the menu, while vegetarian choices, salads, all-day breakfasts, and loaded
tater tots Tater tots are grated potatoes formed into small cylinders and deep-fried, often served as a side dish. The name "tater tot" is a registered trademark of the American frozen food company Ore-Ida, but is often used as a generic term. "Tater" ...
were added. On June 11, 2018, Quiznos announced that it was acquired by California-based High Bluff Capital Partners. The chain will maintain its headquarters in Denver.


Locations

In 2010 the chain said it planned to expand to locations in over 40 countries and territories, including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central and South America, by 2012. In July 2013, the company stated it planned to expand into
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, where it is looking to open about 500 stores. ''QSR'' wrote in November 2013 that, "Following its most recent international successes in Mexico, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, Quiznos will bring toasted sandwiches to Indonesia with the signature of PT Quiznosindo as the brand’s newest franchisor. The group, led by Tan Po Lian, plans to open 100 units in Indonesia over the next 10 years...Expansion into Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia is part of Quiznos’ continued international development plan to open more than 1,000 international stores in more than 40 countries by 2020." Bankruptcy and restructuring upset many of these plans. As of March 31, 2022, there were 176 Quiznos restaurants in the United States and around 200 in 30-plus countries.


Advertising

The company's first major advertising push was a successful
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
campaign during the
2002 Super Bowl Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
. Early TV spots advertised the innovation of toasting sandwiches, as compared to the inventor of pants (humorously contrasted with men wearing bushes). One commercial in 2003 depicted a man (played by
Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...
) who had been "raised by wolves" by suckling at a mother wolf's teat. Other promotions include an early 2004 campaign featuring bizarre, rodent-like, singing creatures called
Spongmonkeys Joel Veitch (born 28 March 1974) is a British Flash cartoon, web animator, singer-songwriter, and member of the humour website B3ta. Veitch is owner of the web site RatherGood where he showcases many of his animations. Joel has also created the ...
, edited by Joel Veitch as well as a series of Quiznos commercials in Canada featuring hockey commentator
Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
. In 2005, Quiznos launched a campaign featuring Baby Bob. In June 2006, Quiznos revealed its new slogan: "Eat Up." Ads nationwide feature a Quiznos sub with steam emanating from it with the tagline, "Mmmm... toasty." Actor
Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor a ...
formerly provided the voiceover for all Quiznos commercials. On September 18, 2006, Quiznos launched the most aggressive advertising campaign aimed at Subway. Dubbed the "Prime Rib Cheesesteak Challenge," customers were asked to compare the brand new Prime Rib Cheesesteak against Subway's Cheesesteak sandwich. The claim is that the Prime Rib Cheesesteak has twice the meat of Subway's Cheesesteak. If the customers are not satisfied, then they can fill out a form, mail the form along with their receipt, and they will receive a coupon for a free sandwich. In subsequent advertisements, Quiznos was shown competing with the fictional "Wrong Way" restaurant based on competing restaurants.
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...
was originally the primary soft drink supplier for the franchise, until 2005. At that time, Coca-Cola signed an exclusive agreement to provide soft drinks to the competing Subway franchise. As a result, Quiznos signed an exclusive deal with PepsiCo (except in Canada and on college campuses that have exclusive deals with Coca-Cola) and
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Dr Pepper Snapple Group (also called Dr. Pepper/7up Inc.) was an American multinational soft drink company based in Plano, Texas, and as of July 2018 it is a business unit of the publicly traded conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper. Formerly Cadbury S ...
(to serve
Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...
). However, in 2019 Quiznos switched back to Coca-Cola products, ending their 14-year relationship with Pepsi. In 2016, the company launched their mobile based loyalty program. This app was aimed at rewarding Quiznos' most loyal customers and to gather customer feedback to improve product and operations.


Mascots

In 2004, Quiznos started using fuzzy-looking creatures called the Spongmonkeys (which were designed by Joel Veitch) in their advertising commercials. One of them plays a guitar, and the other sings a song called "We Love the Subs", in an apparent and shorter spoof of their original song, "We Like the Moon". Several commercials with the Spongmonkeys were released, including ones about rejoice and coupons. However, after a few months, Quiznos discontinued airing the commercials.


Lawsuits and controversies

Quiznos has been the target of several lawsuits related to its treatment of franchisees, including lawsuits in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. It has faced more lawsuits from franchisees than bigger chains, such as
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
, Burger King,
Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was t ...
, and even its sandwich competitors Subway and Blimpie, according to an analysis by the legal research firm
Thomson West Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mi ...
. In February 2007, Quiznos franchisees filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status in Michigan. One lawsuit (filed in New Jersey and seeking class-action status) said that the astounding growth record of Quiznos was merely a mirage. In 2003 and 2004, Quiznos said it sold 234 "trade areas" in the state of New Jersey to franchisees, collecting the $25,000 franchisee fee, but none of these locations ever opened, according to the lawsuit. Three years after handing over her check for the fee, Elisa Whitehall said that she had yet to open a Quiznos in the location she bought and that Quiznos refused to return the fee. One lawsuit cited a memorandum drafted by a Quiznos lawyer in 2003 that stated, "40 percent of Quiznos units are not breaking even," a fact that prospective franchisees say they were never told. The
Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...
said 23.4 percent of Quiznos franchises with SBA loans failed. In contrast, Subway had a 4.8 percent failure rate. As a single example of an unprofitable franchise, Fredrick N. Westerfield was running three Quiznos in Wisconsin. After spending $14,000 in personal savings to keep the stores running, he realized he had a debt of $750,000. He closed all his stores in 2005. "Customers used to come into the store and say to me, 'You must be rolling in the money,'" recalled Mr. Westerfield. "If they only knew." In 2002, the '' Seattle Times'' reported that the company initially ignored the plight of a Quiznos employee who took over operations of one Quiznos store after the true owner abandoned it. Months later, the store was closed. In June 2004, the Quiznos at
Downtown Crossing Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...
,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, was at the center of a
hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...
scare. In 2006, Quiznos sent letters to 300 franchises saying mystery shoppers would be coming to test their services. The company sued franchise owners Richard Piotrowski and Ellen Blickman for not putting enough meat in a prime rib sandwich. Piotrowski and Blickman countersued and won the lawsuit in 2009. Judge Morris Hoffman called the meat-weighing exercise and subsequent termination letters a "charade" aimed at bolstering a national ad campaign against rival Subway. On November 27, 2006, Bhupinder Baber, franchise owner of two
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
, Quiznos locations, died by suicide after a legal battle with the company. In his suicide note, Baber said that the way he was treated by Quizno's drove him to suicide. The Toasted Subs Franchisee Association (TSFA), a group of franchisees, posted Baber's suicide note on its website, and intended to raise money for Baber's family. Quiznos attempted to terminate the TSFA's franchises. The TSFA in turn filed an injunction on December 15, 2006, in the District Court of
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
. A 2014 article in the ''Long Beach Post'' suggested that the factors that contributed to Baber's suicide also led to the parent company's bankruptcy in 2014. As of July 1, 2010, Quiznos was close to reaching a settlement over the multiyear class-action lawsuit that covers nearly 10,000 of its current and former franchisees. The case comprises four separate class-action lawsuits dating back to 2006 which consolidated in 2009 — involved allegations by attorneys for franchisees that Quiznos Franchise Co. LLC and other entities with ownership or control of the Quiznos chain had violated U.S. racketeering and corruption statutes. Also at issue was the chain's supply chain and food costs, marketing and advertising funds, and disputes among franchisees that agreed to, but did not open, locations and whether royalties are owed. Quiznos denied all claims made in the lawsuits and the settlement agreement involves no finding or admission of liability, nonetheless the cost to Quiznos has been estimated from $100 to $200 million while also forcing it to implement a new business plan "which puts more support into its franchisees".


See also

*
List of submarine sandwich restaurants This is a list of notable submarine sandwich restaurants. A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub, wedge, hoagie, gyro, grinder, baguette, or one of many regional naming variations, is a sandwich that consists of a long roll of Italian or Fren ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Denver Restaurants established in 1981 1981 establishments in Colorado Fast-food chains of the United States Submarine sandwich restaurants Multinational food companies Restaurants in Denver Restaurant chains in the United States Private equity portfolio companies Fast-food franchises 1994 initial public offerings Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014 2018 mergers and acquisitions