Area SUBWAY® Restaurant Development Company Reaches 1,100 Store Milestone While Supporting American Cancer Society

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Oct 15, 2010, 12:59 ET

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The staff of the McLean, Virginia based Subway Development Corporation of Washington (SDC) are no strangers to reaching goals, hitting milestones and giving back to the community. As members of the world famous SUBWAY®sandwich chain, it is in their DNA.

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Beginning with one shop across from the House of Representatives Office Building in 1977, SDC has recently celebrated its latest milestone of overseeing the ongoing development and operations of more than 1,100 independently owned and operated outlets of the SUBWAY®submarine sandwich franchise.

This milestone marks the opening of about 100 new stores throughout Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia over the past year. This growth, which is a reversal of the trend currently experienced by the bulk of the restaurant industry, has enabled area SUBWAY®franchisees to be part of a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy economic forecast while also providing approximately 11,000 job and career opportunities to men and women throughout the region.

"Reaching this milestone has been a massive team effort and we all have a lot to be thankful for," said SDC Chairman, Larry Feldman. "From the office support staff to the operations and development teams and the franchisees that own and operate their stores, to their employees who serve our customers, it was everyone's dedication and hard work that made this all happen."

Another example of that massive team effort is SDC's work to support local charitable causes and civic organizations.

As the opening of their 1,100th SUBWAY®restaurant was starting to become a reality, members of the SDC staff were busily preparing for another event that was near and dear to their hearts.

Held at the Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Virginia, SDC recently hosted their 13th annual Charity Golf Tournament, with proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. At the end of the event, a check was presented for $290,000, bringing total donations over the thirteen year period to more than $1.5 million. A majority of donations were raised through the sale of pink ribbons in area SUBWAY®restaurants.

"Cancer is a disease that touches everyone, and it will take all of us to make it a thing of the past," said David Dickerson, Vice President of Operations for SDC. "Even in the most difficult economic times we have seen in decades we were able to raise our largest donation ever. Everyone involved should be proud of what we have accomplished and in knowing that these monies are going to help support people within our communities who have been impacted by this terrible disease."

Setting their sights on the years to come, SDC expects their 14th annual golf tournament to yield even more for the American Cancer Society—and has set a goal to reach 1,200 SUBWAY®restaurants by 2012.

About Subway Development Corporation of Washington:

With its headquarters located in McLean, Virginia, the Subway Development Corporation of Washington (SDC) supports its franchises with site selection, restaurant design, layout and construction assistance, financing, opening assistance, quality assurance, and ongoing operational support. The company also has an elected advisory board of franchisees who assist in advertising placement, product selection, and policy implementation. To find out more about the Subway Development Corporation of Washington, visit www.subwaydcw.com.

SDC Chairman Larry Feldman, was a former Assistant General Counsel to the House Banking and Currency Committee when he opened the first DC area SUBWAY®restaurant.
Feldman knew very little about the restaurant business when he opened that first store, but he did recognize the potential of the small Connecticut-based sandwich chain that was started by a college friend, Fred DeLuca, President and Co-Founder of the SUBWAY®restaurant chain.
With that single store, Feldman was a pioneer in helping to launch the SUBWAY® brand nationwide.
During the past seven years, SDC has opened 500 SUBWAY®restaurants - in less than half the time it took to launch the first 500.
SUBWAY®franchisees in the SDC development territory employ more than 11,000 people.
SDC's expert staff of 50 support SUBWAY® franchisees, throughout Washington DC, Delaware, Virginia and most of Maryland, in a wide variety of business functions such as site selection, restaurant design, construction, and ongoing operational support.
The favorable business environment in the greater DC area has created opportunities for the SDC team to open SUBWAY®locations in highly visible non-traditional settings such military bases, government office buildings, hospitals, colleges, public schools, amusement parks and airports.
SDC's 1,100 SUBWAY® locations equates to approximately 1.3 million square feet of prime commercial real estate.
SDC's 2010 donation of $290,000 to the American Cancer Society was the company's largest in its 13 year history of working with the organization.
SDC's total fund raising efforts for the American Cancer Society has yielded more than $1.5 million.