October 24, 2013
The Subway restaurant chain has reached the milestone of 3,000 open and operating locations throughout Canada. The landmark restaurant, which is open 24 hours a day, is located on the arrivals level of Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is owned by multiunit operator, Raj Chhoker, who is celebrating his 11th year as a Subway franchisee.
The new unit is Chhoker's sixth Subway, and his second at Pearson. He has two additional sites in the Toronto area in the planning and construction stages.
"My wife Angie worked as a part time Sandwich Artist at our neighborhood Subway restaurant. From that job we became interested in becoming business owners, and Subway seemed perfect for us," he said. "After years working as a manager of large retail outlets, we wanted to have our own business, where we could grow and fulfill our dreams."
The first Subway restaurant in Canada opened in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1986. The chain recently achieved the milestones of 600 stores in Quebec and 400 in British Columbia. So far this year, franchisees have opened more than 130 new locations across the country, with about half in Ontario.
"I'm thrilled that the 3,000th is right here in Ontario, and we owe it all to the hard work and dedication of our franchisees and their staff," said Dan Burns, Subway development agent for the greater Toronto area. "Having the milestone open in such a high profile location as Pearson International is an added bonus and really shows how Canada has embraced the Subway brand."
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