---
title: "The Evolution of Subway - Bill Mathis (3 unit owner)"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/2edbd79a-5d62-4263-ad9c-ad59654ec511
source: "Empires Weekly"
original_url: https://empirespod.substack.com/p/the-evolution-of-subway-bill-mathis
author: "Patrick Buckley"
category: "Sandwich & sub"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Sandwich & sub"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2026-06-10T12:26:41.000Z
modified: 2026-06-10T12:30:28.730Z
image: https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1Hj4!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc64bdae6-29b2-41f4-b757-9768bac815b4_1280x1280.png
---

# The Evolution of Subway - Bill Mathis (3 unit owner)

**TL;DR:** Bill Mathis worked for Subway starting in 1992, and eventually became a franchise owner in 2001.

*By Patrick Buckley, originally published in Empires Weekly on 2026-06-10. [Read the original](https://empirespod.substack.com/p/the-evolution-of-subway-bill-mathis).*

## Story

Bill Mathis worked for Subway starting in 1992, and eventually became a franchise owner in 2001. He's owned as many as 4 stores, and gives us an inside look at the brand over the past few decades. We dive into everything and everything, including the impact of the $5 footlong promo, the sandwich wars with Quiznos, what Fred DeLuca was like, and how the transition under Roark Capital has been.

## Entities

- Multi-Unit (sector)
- franchise (topic)
- Empires Weekly (publication)
- Patrick Buckley (person)
- ownership (topic)
- Bill Mathis (person)
- subway (topic)

---
Originally reported by Patrick Buckley, Empires Weekly (https://empirespod.substack.com/p/the-evolution-of-subway-bill-mathis). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/2edbd79a-5d62-4263-ad9c-ad59654ec511).