GONE FOR GOOD
Subway abruptly closes 23 stores in two states & 200 workers out of jobs – diners fear chain is ‘dropping like flies’
The closures follow a misfortune for the franchise owner
NEARLY two dozen Subway locations have closed down across two states, leaving over 200 employees jobless.
The closures came as a shock to the hundreds of Subway employees, but not to customers.
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Twenty-three Subway locations have been abruptly shut down across Oregon and Washington.
The closures span from Bend, Oregon to Vancouver, Washington.
The wave of closures left over 200 workers unexpectedly without work.
A Subway in Gladstone, Oregon, south of Portland, has a sign on the door that reads, "This location is temporarily closed. Stay healthy and see you soon!"
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Joanne Kennedy, the manager of the Gladstone location, said the sign was pretty much all the information she had when it shuttered.
“No warning, no heads up, no transparency, completely and totally blindsided, every one of us,” Kennedy told KPTV.
She noticed things began to change when the food orders she placed were not arriving.
“There was no communication, there was just, ‘Keep doing your job, business as usual.’ That’s what I was told, business as usual, they’re looking for a resolution for the food order,” she said.
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“We were all trading food in between stores trying to keep everyone’s doors open, and then no food came.”
Although the closures came as a shock to employees, Subway customers weren't so surprised.
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"…and no one saw this coming ??? SERIOUSLY? Their quality has been sh** for over four years, their branches aren't doing well, business is slow for Subway many people don't want to go there no more," blasted one diner on Facebook.
Another customer bashed the chain's bread, calling it "terrible now."
"Dropping like flies...." wrote a third.
SUB SITUATION
Ann Bell, who ran the franchise CapTen Enterprises, owned the shuttered locations.
The situation began when Bell's bank account was hacked, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Because the loss was considered fraud, the stolen funds were not covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Closed Locations
Several of the closed Subway locations owned by CapTen Enterprises include:
- 19516 SE McLoughlin Blvd in Gladstone, OR
- 1900 McLoughlin Blvd Suite 35 in Oregon City, OR
- 62929 N Hwy 97 in Bend, OR
- 515 NE Bellevue Drive in Bend, OR
- 620 N. Arrowleaf Trail in Sisters, OR
- 56896 Venture Lane in Sunriver, OR
- 406 W. Eighth St. in Vancouver, WA
- 8902 N.E. Fifth Ave., Suite 111 in Vancouver, WA
- 6715 N.E. 63rd St., Suite B108 in Vancouver, WA
- 2265 N.E. Andresen Road, Suite 101 in Vancouver, WA
- 13521 S.E. Third Way, No. 100 in Vancouver, WA
- 11409 N.E. 28th St. Bldg. J, Suite 1 in Vancouver, WA
“I thought I could handle it, I thought I work through it and I thought that money would come. So I borrowed money elsewhere to try to kind of stay afloat,” Bell told local CBS affiliate KOIN 6 News.
“And looking back now, my main concern the whole time was always to pay our employees to make sure employees got paid. And so other vendors and other bills kind of fell to the wayside.
"And looking back now, maybe I should have changed that up a little bit and tried to kind of spread the money evenly.”
Subway closed down the 23 locations and ended Bell's rights as a franchisee to operate them on August 9.
A company spokesperson confirmed the closures and shared that Subway was working hastily to reopen them.
“Our priority is to ensure guests can continue enjoying freshly made, high-quality, delicious food by identifying experienced operators within our system who can quickly take ownership and re-open the restaurants," said the spokesperson.
SUBWAY STRUGGLES
Another Subway franchisee faced a series of closures, ultimately filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June.
River Subs LLC owns 48 Subway restaurants in Texas, according to San Antonio Express.
The franchisee owned 69 locations in 2012 but has shuttered 21 because of “restaurant saturation" and the pandemic.
It filed for bankruptcy in hopes of restructuring amidst financial struggles. The company has assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million each.
River Subs LLC's largest debt is from losing a $3 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of one of its previous employees.
Marisela Cadena was a 43-year-old manager at one of the franchisee's restaurants.
She was shot and killed by a former boyfriend while at work in 2020 after being denied a transfer request days before her murder.
The Subway franchise itself has also faced thousands of closures for nearly a decade, closing around 7,000 restaurants since 2015.
Other food chains are similarly struggling to stay afloat.
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