Quiznos has closed one of its last locations in metro Atlanta. In the past few days, the Quiznos in Chamblee Plaza closed "for ever" according to a sign on the business's front door. The roughly 2,500 square foot franchised location was reportedly "priced out" after owner Trinity Development invested millions in upgrades to the center and increased rents as a result. Following the closure there will be just three Quiznos left in metro Atlanta: two downtown and one in midtown. The Quiznos website indicates there is a fourth Georgia location at a Marriott hotel in Augusta and a fifth in Kingsland in southeast Georgia.
Founded in Denver, Colorado in 1981, Quiznos had by 2007 grown to nearly 5,000 locations. Today, however, the chain operates about 500 locations following years of mass closures including seven hundred locations in 2009 and another eight hundred in 2010. In metro Georgia, the chain has over the years opened and closed more than two dozen locations.
Our research shows that over the years Quiznos franchisees have closed units in:
Peachtree Center, Buckhead, Northlake, Tucker, Akers Mill, Georgia Tech, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Snellville, Sandy Springs, East Cobb, Augusta, Rome, Lithonia, Duluth, Albany (2), Douglasville, Hinesville, Conyers, Athens, Lawrenceville, Fitzgerald, Macon, Canton, Ellijay, Cartersville, and Jasper, among others.
One might ask why so many units has closed and the answer is pretty simple: they didn't make much money...ever. According to published reports, at its height, Quiznos stores were bringing in an average of $400,000 in revenue per store. By comparison, Jimmy John's, another sandwich shop, generates more than $1.2 million per store, according to industry estimates.
Jonathan Maze of Restaurant Business wrote an extensive piece in 2018 - A BRIEF HISTORY OF QUIZNOS’ COLLAPSE - where he explains all that went wrong for the once high-flying chain.
Among the things Maze touches on are the low sales, highly competitive landscape and ownership changes at the brand. The year after his article, San Diego-based High Bluff Capital Partners, a private equity firm, purchased Quiznos for an undisclosed amount.
In Chamblee, Quiznos is the second sandwich shop to close in just the past few months. Across from Chamblee Plaza, a Jimmy John's franchise closed earlier this year about the same time as the one at Toco Hills did. Both had been open only a few years. Amazingly, a dated Subway continues to operate on the same side of the road as the former Jimmy John's in a far less appealing building.
Quiznos fall from grace is not terribly different from what happened to one its more established rivals, Blimpie. Referred to by many as the "oldest sandwich chain in America," the first Blimpie opened in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1964, one year before the first Subway, then known as "Pete's Super Submarines," opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1987, Blimpie celebrated the opening of its 50th Atlanta area location by giving away 25,000 free sandwiches. The chain eventually grew to a reported 100 locations in the greater metro Atlanta area and about 2,000 chain wide. Today there are only a handful of locations left in metro Atlanta, and according to their website, "200+ franchise units" overall.
What would you like to see open in place of Quiznos [or Jimmy John's] in Chamblee? What is your favorite sandwich chain? Are you pleased by the recent improvements at Chamblee Plaza?
Please share your thoughts below.