Miami Subs
History
Founding
The founder of the company, Gus Boulis, helped build the Mr. Submarine, now known as Mr. Sub, restaurant chain in Canada from a single location to over 200 locations, after which he retired to Florida. In 1980, he opened another restaurant in Key West called Mr. Submarine, which later expanded into Miami Subs Grill, offering a greater variety of food, all cooked to order.
Expansion
Miami Subs Grill built this concept and expanded rapidly in the '90s, starting in Florida and spreading quickly nationwide, with new restaurant locations, as well as stores in less typical locations, such as schools, highway rest areas (particularly along Florida's Turnpike) and airports. The restaurants featured a distinctive exterior design with South Beach-inspired pastels trimmed with pink and blue neon lights and interiors decorated in a tropical motif.
Co-branding agreement
A 1998 agreement added Arthur Treacher's fish and chips to the Miami Subs Grill concept. A planned merger between the two companies failed, however, when Arthur Treacher's stock value dropped precipitously.
Purchase and sale
In 1999, Nathan's Famous purchased the chain for $14.4 million, bringing the Miami Subs Grill and Arthur Treacher's brands under a common corporate umbrella. The chain had approximately 175 outlets at acquisition. However, the chain struggled, due in part to instability in the management ranks, and in 2007, Nathan's Famous announced the sale of Miami Subs to a private investment group, Miami Subs Capital Partner 1 Inc, for $3.3 million.
International expansion and partnership
At the time of the sale, the chain operated in nearly 60 locations, including one in Turkey. 40 additional restaurants were planned in Turkey, but were never completed. Another location was under construction in Romania, where 20 restaurants were planned, but never completed either.
On July 24, 2012, Miami Subs announced that an equity stake in the chain was purchased by Armando Cristian Pérez, known by his stage name, Pitbull.
In February 2013, Miami Subs announced an agreement to develop new stores in the Middle East GCC countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. However, these stores never came to fruition.
Rebrand to Miami Grill
Starting in 2014, the company decided to change their branding strategy by gradually changing to a new branding concept called Miami Grill.
Future plans
In April 2020, Miami Grill announced plans to eliminate their dining rooms and install two drive-through lanes, a walk-up order window and a mobile order pick-up area to every location, which would accommodate the changing times as fewer people dine in at restaurants.
References
- ^ Prewitt, Milford (February 10, 1992). "Miami Subs explodes into growth mode". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2009 – via FindArticles.
- ^ "Miami Subs expands non-traditional development". Business Wire (Press release). February 26, 1007. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2009 – via The Free Library.
- ^ "Arthur Treacher's Inc. Makes Announcement" (Press release). February 17, 1999. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2009 – via FindArticles.
- ^ Allen, Robin Lee (August 17, 1998). "Miami Subs elevates Perlyn to chain's top post". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2009 – via FindArticles.
- ^ "Nathan's sells Miami Subs for $3.3M". Nation's Restaurant News. June 8, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ^ "Former Papa John's president joins Miami Subs". Business First Louisville. June 10, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- ^ Walker, Elaine (July 24, 2012). "Pitbull takes ownership in The New Miami Subs Grill". Miami Herald.
- ^ "From Miami To The Middle East, The New Miami Subs Grill Makes The Jump Across The Pond To Set Up Shop In Six Gulf Coast Countries" (PDF) (Press release). The New Miami Subs Grill. February 14, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 27, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- ^ Valverde, Miriam (August 24, 2014). "Miami Subs launching new brand, Miami Grill, with big expansion plans". Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.
- ^ Rob Hurtibise, "Miami Grill unveils 'next generation' concept", South Florida Sun Sentinel, April 22, 2020