Dive Brief:
- Subway has hired Jonathan Fitzpatrick as CEO effective July 28, the sandwich chain announced Monday.
- Fitzpatrick has over 20 years of franchising and QSR experience, with past roles including executive vice president and chief brand and operations officer at Burger King. Most recently, he served as president and CEO of automotive services company Driven Brands.
- This appointment comes as Subway contends with low average-unit volumes and experiments with menu changes to attract more traffic.
Dive Insight:
Fitzpatrick’s experience will be instrumental in boosting franchisee profitability. While serving as Burger King's chief brand and operations officer, helped simplify restaurant operations, boosted the guest experience and modernized restaurants, Subway said in the press release. He also oversaw the largest menu overhaul in the burger chain's history.
“I'm excited by the opportunity to shape the future of the company, working alongside our valued franchisees and employees to help drive increased sales and franchisee profitability,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
This appointment follows the retirement of John Chidsey at the end of last year, and the appointment of Carrie Walsh as interim CEO. Under Chidsey, Subway signed over 10,000 global restaurant commitments, oversaw remodels and spearheaded menu updates, including the successful Subway Sidekicks snacks menu. The company also sold itself to Roark Capital in a roughly $9 billion sale.
One of Fitzpatrick’s biggest challenges will be to keep Subway competitive as other sandwich chains continue to grow. Overall consumer spending at Subway dropped 6% and unit count was down 4%, according to Ciracna’s Definitive U.S. Restaurant Ranking 2025 report.
In the past three years, Subway has closed 1,645 units, according to its 2025 franchise disclosure document. Subway also had the lowest average-unit volumes across the 50 chains analyzed in Circana’s report, suggesting ongoing profitability issues. Comparatively, consumer spending at Jersey Mikes rose 16% last year.
