| Fred DeLuca | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frederick DeLuca 1948 (age 64) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Residence | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White American |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Net worth | US$2.2 billion (2011)[1] |
| Title | Founder/President of Subway (1965–present) |
| Spouse | Married |
| Children | 1 son |
Frederick "Fred" DeLuca (born 1948[2]) is an American businessman, best known as the co-founder of the Subway franchise of sandwich restaurants. DeLuca is an alumnus of University of Bridgeport and Central High School in Bridgeport, CT.
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In 1965 when DeLuca was seventeen years old, he borrowed $1,000 from friend and restauranteur Peter Buck, to start his first sandwich shop, after Buck suggested the idea to DeLuca at Buck's Armonk, New York home.[3] Until that time, Deluca worked at a low wage paying job at a hardware store, trying to raise money to pay for college,[4] to study in the field of medicine.[5] When he began his sandwich stand he chose a mediocre location for his shop. Deluca wanted a food place that was healthy. His plan was to begin a “fast-food venture that provided a healthier, less fattening bill of fare.[4]” On the radio advertisement they had promoted the name as "Pete's Submarines", which sounded like Pizza Marine, so they changed the name to "Pete's Subway", eventually it was shortened to "Subway", as it is known today.
The first shop opened on August 28 that year in the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut.[6] The first year of business was a learning experience and of course a challenge. A year later Deluca and Buck opened their second location and it took that amount of time for the two men to realize that visibility and marketing were the two main key factors to the success of the business. DeLuca believed that the biggest mistake he made was where he set up his very first shop as it was a "crummy location.".[6] Knowing that they needed a better spot with much visibility, the third outlet was in a highly visible location [5] and that location is still there today.[7]
In 1978, Subway’s 100th store opened and in the 1000 store mark in 1987, whereas the McDonald's chain only had 800 [4].
As of October 2011, the company counts over 35,400 franchised locations in 98 countries[8] and produces US $9.05 billion sales every year. In 2007, Forbes magazine named DeLuca number 242 of the 400 richest Americans with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Today, Subway is one of the most popular chain restaurants[4]. [9]
DeLuca and Peter Buck also partnered to create Franchise Brands [10] in an effort to assist other entrepreneurs in replicating their success in the franchise industry.
At the age of 10 Fred moved to Amsterdam, New York where he and his family became friends with Peter Buck.[3] Once in his teens, he moved with his family to Bridgeport, Connecticut.[4] After succeeding, DeLuca continued his dream to go to college and graduated from the University of Bridgeport; a private university in Bridgeport, CT.[5]
DeLuca lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL,[9] along with his wife and one son.[5]