Quiznos
| File:Quiznos logo.jpg | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | Denver, Colorado (1981) |
| Headquarters | Denver |
Key people | Rick Schaden, Chairman and CEO |
| Products | Subs, Salads other food products |
| Revenue | US$ 130 million (2004 estimate from Hoover's, Inc.) |
| Website | http://www.quiznos.com/ |
Quiznos Sub (formerly Quizno's Subs) is a fast-food sandwich chain that specializes in toasted submarine sandwiches. As of 2005 it has become the second largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, passing the older and slower-growing Blimpie, though still a fraction of the size of Subway.
There are over 3600 shops located in the United States, over 300 in Canada, and 100 more scattered in 13 other countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Guam. In 2002 Wendy's Supa Sundaes acquired the rights to the brand for franchises in Australia (and later, New Zealand).
All of Quiznos' sandwiches are served toasted, though they can still be sold cold at the customer's request. The most popular subs are the Classic Italian, the Mesquite Chicken with Bacon, the Black Angus, the Smoked Turkey, the Chicken Carbonara, and the Honey Bacon Club.
Partly due to Quiznos' success, Subway began offering toasted subs in 2004 and Boston Market began toasting their sandwiches in 2005.
Advertising
Over the years Quiznos has had varied success at advertising campaigns. The company's first major advertising splash came with a successful ad during the 2002 Super Bowl. Another ad that debuted in 2003 depicted a man "raised by wolves" suckling at a mother wolf's teat was not so successful. An ad featuring Spongmonkeys produced strongly mixed reactions by reviewers, and was quickly canned. There is the possibility that Quizno's had legal action taken against them for this series of commercials.
Quiznos ads in Canada have featured hockey commentator Don Cherry.
In 2005, Quiznos launched a series of ads featuring Baby Bob; like the Spongmonkeys, Bob originated as an Internet blog phenomenon, but was also attached to a short-lived CBS TV series. In the new commercials, Bob is voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell.
Quiznos has also been known to take advantage of underground advertising phenomena in localized areas. For example, they were one of the first advertisers to put ads on the back of famous San Francisco eccentric and alien protester Frank Chu's sign.
History
The first Quiznos Sub restaurant opened at 13th and Grant in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood in 1981. In 1987, after overhearing a comment by a customer, Rick Schaden opened the first franchise in Boulder, Colorado. In 1991 Schaden and his father purchased the entire franchise operation.
In December 2001 Quiznos, which at the time was a lightly-traded public company 60%-owned by the Schadens, went private, at a $8 per-share price considered low by several of its shareholders. The disgruntled shareholders sued; their suits was settled in September 2004, with Quiznos paying them another $7.35 per share, after fees.
In 2003, Quiznos began to expand in earnest in Canada, where it had established a small foothold a couple of years earlier.
External links
- Official website
- Official website for Quiznos in Australia and New Zealand
- Website of a Quiznos area director, responsible for dozens of franchises in several states
- Franchising summary from Entrepreneur magazine
- Fact sheet for Quiznos, from Hoover's
- Articles from American City Business Journals:
- Quiznos votes to go private, from December 2001
- Judge orders Quiznos settlement, from September 2004
- Interview with CEO Rick Schaden, a January 2004 article from QSR Magazine
- Story of a Quiznos from The Seattle Times:
- Backed into a Corner, an April 2005 story about the Seattle shop (with RealAudio) from This American Life