Business Wars

It’s 1965 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and 17-year-old Fred DeLuca needs money to pay for college. A family friend makes him a surprising offer and they become unlikely partners, opening a string of barely profitable restaurants called Pete’s Submarines. Their luck changes when DeLuca refines their cash flow management process and recruits their  first franchisee. They give the burgeoning restaurant empire  a new name: Subway...

It’s 1987 in Denver, Colorado, and a 22-year-old stockbroker named Rick Schaden invests a market windfall into a Quiznos franchise. Four years later, he and his wealthy father buy all 18 stores. Their outlandish dream: take on Subway. Meanwhile, a college kid manages to lose 245 pounds eating 2 Subway sandwiches a day. With “Jared the Subway Guy” as their new spokesperson, and the introduction of freshly baked bread, Subway’s profits and store count soar...

It’s 2003 in Miami, Florida and a Subway franchisee comes up with a catchy promotion: the 5 Dollar Footlong. But Subway Corporate is preoccupied with a costly new innovation: special ovens to toast their subs. Robbed of their “toasty” advantage, Quiznos counters with a hip ad featuring uncanny creatures called Spongmonkeys, and a campaign claiming their steak subs have more meat than Subway’s...

It’s 2008 and as the Great Recession sinks in, Panera, Jersey Mike’s and Firehouse Subs amp up the competition. Quiznos tries to win back dwindling market share with an avalanche of coupons. But store managers refuse to honor them and sue the parent company for abusive practices. While civil war rages at Quiznos, Subway faces down a serious scandal. But Quiznos can’t take advantage of their competitor’s troubles; they’re in a fatal tailspin...

We’ve spent this season telling the story of how Quiznos and Subway battled to create a sub sandwich that would lure the most customers. Now, we’re putting them to the test – a taste test, that is. Josh Scherer and Nicole Enayati are Kitcheneers and hosts of Mythical Kitchen, an offshoot of the popular YouTube channel, Good Mythical Morning. They also co-host the podcast “A Hotdog is a Sandwich...

We'll take a look at the hotel industry landscape this summer, including the "Taylor Swift effect," and the amped up fight against rental companies like AirBnB. Travel industry journalist Sean O'Neill and comedian Liz Barrett join us for this journey. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.