#restaurant chains

Crowds gather outside the original Nathan's Famous hot dog stand on Coney Island, 1955. The stand was originally built in 1916 by Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker with a $300 loan; today, the restaurant chain can be found all over the world.

Mr.Sub, originally called Mr.Submarine before the 1990s, is a Canadian chain of over 200 submarine sandwich shops. The first store was opened in 1968 in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, which was then known for its "hippie" culture.

As of 2015, Mr.Sub has seven restaurants across India, and one in Dubai, with the rest being located in Canada.

Mr.Sub was founded in Toronto, Canada in 1968 by two friends, Jack Levinson, a gym teacher, and Earl Linzon, an accounting clerk, with $1500 start-up capital. The founders aimed to sell quality food; serve it fast; make it fresh; and above all, give customers value for their money.

The first Mr.Sub, restaurant, then called Mr.Submarine, opened at 130 Yorkville Avenue, on the ground floor of a converted Victorian row house. After a positive response, the two founders opened a second restaurant five months later.

In 1972, Mr.Submarine sold its first franchise, and officially became Mr.Sub in 1990.

After the mid 1990's, the chain went into decline, due to introduction of the Subway franchise. There was speculation in 2005 that Michael Bregman, the former owner of the Second Cup coffee chain, was contemplating a purchase of the chain. Other names floated as possible suitors have included Swiss Chalet parent Cara Operations and KFC operator Priszm Canadian Income Fund. The doughnut chain Country Style was briefly interested in Mr.Sub in 2005.

On August 18, 2011, MTY Food Group, which by then owned Country Style, announced that it would acquire Mr.Sub at the end of October 2011 for $23 million.

Mr.Sub was originally the only major franchise retailer of submarine sandwiches in Canada, until the arrival of American chains such as Subway. It now faces stiff competition from several quick service brands, surviving in small towns/countryside market, and regular take-out places that have have always served the sandwich.