Sandwich franchises

The typical sandwich franchise here costs $436,176 to $935,000 to open. Sort the table by cost, fee, royalty or number of locations.

Brands: 21
Typical cost: $436K–$935K
Lowest start: $203KCharleys Cheesesteaks
Share earnings: 17 of 21

All 21 brands

Sort by any column, or filter by budget and fees.

Sandwich franchises: investment, fee, royalty and locations

Subway	$263K–$630K	$15,000	8%	18,773	No
Arby's	$869K–$2.46M	$37,500	4%	3,265	$1.27M
Jersey Mike's	$436K–$1.16M	$20,000	6.5%	3,227	$1.37M
Jimmy John's	$366K–$734K	$35,000	6%	2,777	$1.01M
Firehouse Subs	$405K–$876K	$20,000	6%	1,291	$974K
Charleys Cheesesteaks	$203K–$696K	$24,500	6%	826	$845K
McAlister's Deli	$910K–$1.82M	$35,500	5% of net sales	572	$1.87M
Potbelly	$629K–$999K	$40,000	6%	470	$1.34M
Penn Station East Coast Subs	$441K–$820K	$25,000	2–8%	322	$822K
Schlotzsky’s	$675K–$1.46M	$35,500	6% of net sales	294	$1.16M
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop	$595K–$935K	$40,000	6%-7% of gross sales	155	$859K
Quiznos	$214K–$649K	$20,000	5%	139	$381K
Port of Subs	$420K–$939K	$25,000	6% of gross sales	122	$540K
Sourdough & Co.	$330K–$589K	$49,500	5%	99	Yes
Cousins Subs	$465K–$1.16M	$25,000	6% of gross receipts	92	$865K
Blimpie	$308K–$601K	$18,000	6% or $300/wk	88	No
Cheba Hut	$631K–$2.09M	$50,000	5% of net sales	83	$2.34M
Lee’s Sandwiches	$988K–$1.68M	$75,000	6.9% of gross sales	50	No
Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe	$646K–$1.11M	$35,000	6%	35	$1.45M
Great Steak	$258K–$679K	$30,000	6% + minimum	23	$533K
MELTwich	$264K–$523K	$30,000	6%	3	No

How sandwich franchises compare

Of the 21 brands, 16 give a comparable yearly sales figure per location, from $381K at Quiznos to $2.34M at Cheba Hut; the middle figure is $991K. From 2023 to 2025, 12 of the 21 brands with three years of counts grew their US locations, and Jersey Mike's added the most (+840). Who runs it, by the franchise agreement: 5 must be run by the owner, 13 can be run by a trained manager, 3 don’t need the owner to take part. How sales figures compare · Who runs it

Sandwich franchises: yearly sales per location, US locations and change since 2023, yearly exits and who runs it
Brand	Sales per location	Locations vs 2023	Exits/yr
Cheba HutA trained manager can run itExits: 1.0% a year	$2.34Maverage	83+32	1.0%
McAlister's DeliOwner needn't take partExits: 2.1% a year	$1.87Maverage	572+48	2.1%
Pickleman’s Gourmet CafeA trained manager can run it	$1.45Maverage	35+7	n/a
Jersey Mike'sOwner must run itExits: 0.3% a year	$1.37Maverage	3,227+840	0.3%
PotbellyA trained manager can run itExits: 3.0% a year	$1.34Maverage	470+41	3.0%
Arby'sOwner needn't take partExits: 2.7% a year	$1.27Maverage	3,265−150	2.7%
Schlotzsky’sA trained manager can run itExits: 4.9% a year	$1.16Maverage	294−32	4.9%
Jimmy John'sA trained manager can run itExits: 1.6% a year	$1.01Maverage	2,777+140	1.6%
Firehouse SubsOwner must run itExits: 2.2% a year	$974Kaverage	1,291+104	2.2%
Cousins SubsOwner needn't take part	$865Kaverage	920	n/a
Capriotti's Sandwich ShopA trained manager can run itExits: 8.9% a year	$859Kaverage	155+19	8.9%
Charleys CheesesteaksA trained manager can run it	$845Kaverage	826+154	n/a
Penn Station East Coast SubsOwner must run itExits: 1.7% a year	$822Kaverage	322+3	1.7%
Port of SubsOwner must run it	$540Kaverage	122−10	n/a
Great SteakA trained manager can run it	$533Kaverage	23−4	n/a
QuiznosA trained manager can run it	$381Kaverage	139−28	n/a
SubwayA trained manager can run itExits: 4.6% a year	n/a	18,773−1,803	4.6%
Sourdough & Co.A trained manager can run it	n/a	99+94	n/a
BlimpieA trained manager can run it	n/a	88−32	n/a
Lee’s SandwichesOwner must run itExits: 3.6% a year	n/a	50−1	3.6%
MELTwichA trained manager can run itExits: 40.0% a year	n/a	3+3	40.0%

Sales are the yearly average (or median) per franchised location from each brand’s latest filing; per-owner figures, company-run locations and groups under five locations are left out. Locations are franchised plus company-owned in the US at the end of the latest year reported, with the change since 2023. Exits/yr is franchised locations closed, terminated or not renewed each year, as a share of the average count; buy-backs and transfers don’t count.

Best sandwich franchises to own

The 6 brands here that pass all five tests: growth, few owner exits, earnings figures shared, SBA listing and 100+ US locations three years ago. Fewest exits first. How the ranking works

Best sandwich franchises to own
Brand	Growth	Exits/yr	Cost to open
1. Jersey Mike's$436K–$1.16M to open	+35%	0.3%	$436K–$1.16M
2. Jimmy John's$366K–$734K to open	+5.3%	1.6%	$366K–$734K
3. Penn Station East Coast Subs$441K–$820K to open	+0.9%	1.7%	$441K–$820K
4. McAlister's Deli$910K–$1.82M to open	+9.2%	2.1%	$910K–$1.82M
5. Firehouse Subs$405K–$876K to open	+8.8%	2.2%	$405K–$876K
6. Potbelly$629K–$999K to open	+9.6%	3.0%	$629K–$999K