Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

The Sandwich King: The Early Years of Subway’s Fred DeLuca

Fred DeLuca Articles
The Sandwich King: The Early Years of Subway’s Fred DeLuca

Fred DeLuca was nothing more than a kid from “The Projects”, looking for a way to pay his college tuition when he opened up a sandwich store in Bridgeport, Connecticut. At the time, he could not even afford the $25 lawyer’s fee he needed to sign the lease. That was back in 1956. Today, his store has blossomed into the third largest fast food chain in the world. Subway remains one of the largest global privately held companies and earns revenues in excess of $9.5 billion.

Frederick A. DeLuca was born in 1948 in Brooklyn, New York to second-generation Italian immigrant parents. Almost immediately, his parents began to notice an entrepreneurial spirit in their young son. By the age of 10, he had already earned his own money by cashing in empty bottles he found lying in the housing project where he and his family were living. He only received two cents per bottle, but it was a start. After moving to Schenectady, New York in 1957 he began a paper route that would eventually serve more than 400 customers.

DeLuca’s family made its third move to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Central High School. His goal was to study medicine at Bridgeport University and become a doctor, but money left him short of achieving that dream. DeLuca took up a job at a hardware store to help pay for his tuition, but still, he found his $1.25 minimum wage was not enough.

That is when the family received a phone call from Dr. Pete Buck, a long-time friend who had just switched jobs and moved closer into town. Buck wanted to meet up once again with the DeLuca’s. It was on one Sunday afternoon in July 1965 that DeLuca and Buck began talking.

“Where our families had met in upstate New York, there was a small chain called Mike’s,” recalls DeLuca. “The day we talked, he pulled out a little newspaper clipping about Mike Davis, the guy behind Mike’s. He started with nothing, and after 10 years, he owned 32 stores.”

After a brief discussion, Buck suggested to DeLuca that he open up a sandwich restaurant in order to earn enough money to pay for his tuition. DeLuca found it to be an odd suggestion, but he was nevertheless intrigued. “How does it work?” he asked.

Buck went on to explain the ins and outs of the submarine sandwich business. He told DeLuca all he needed to do was rent a small store, build a counter, buy the food, and open up shop. It was a simple operation, so they thought, and one Buck would be willing to finance if DeLuca wanted to take it on. Before his family left that day, Buck would write DeLuca a check for $1,000.

That was on Sunday. On Monday, DeLuca was already out looking for a vacant space to rent. He was eager to get started on this latest venture, albeit completely unaware of what was in store for him down the road.





The Sandwich King The Early Years of Subways Fred DeLuca

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 The Sandwich King The Early Years of Subways Fred DeLuca It was very interesante
Commented on The Sandwich King The Early Years of Subways Fred DeLuca.
 The Sandwich King The Early Years of Subways Fred DeLuca Awesome
Commented on The Sandwich King The Early Years of Subways Fred DeLuca.
 The Sandwich King The Early Years of Subways Fred DeLuca Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Stephanie Robey
Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Read Steph's Blog
Meet Steph and Dave
Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich
- Visit Stephanie Robey's Website

David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

Casey Gollan
Casey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website

Dianne Crampton
Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website

Joe Dager
Joe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website

John Power
John Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website

Staging Diva
Debra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

Famous Entrepreneur Video
Fred DeLuca Video - Watch the Founder of Subway, Fred DeLuca, interview with Donny Deutsch on CNBC.
Famous Entrepreneur Video

Fred DeLuca Picture Fred DeLuca Newsletter
Get our free newsletter to learn more about Fred DeLuca and other famous entrepreneurs!

Name:
Email:





Evan Elite Authors
David Barr  
Casey Gollan  
Staging Diva  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Addictive Entrepreneurship Icon Addictive Entrepreneurship
Relational Software Icon Relational Software
Business and Income Icon Business and Income
Quick Start Guide Icon Quick Start Guide
Dismiss a Franchise Icon Dismiss a Franchise
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts - Best Posts for Bloggers
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers
 
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts - Best Posts for Entrepreneurs
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts
Best Posts for Entrepreneurs
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Patience Ayadi Benin City, Nigeria,
Patience Ayadi
Benin City, Nigeria
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Dana Zita, > $2.5 Mil in revenues
Dana Zita
> $2.5 Mil in revenues
John Zarei and Shaan Parekh , $516k to $1.5 Mil in 2 years
John Zarei and Shaan Parekh
$516k to $1.5 Mil in 2 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay Cosmetics
Mary Kay Ash
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Steel
Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie Steel
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing
John Jantsch
Duct Tape Marketing
Seth Godin, Ideavirus Author
Seth Godin
Ideavirus Author
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Why I Exchange Business Cards
By Terry Whalin
     Unspoken Yet Important Rules for Book Proposals
By Terry Whalin
     Need Inspiration? Get A Deadline
By Terry Whalin

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information