Subway Overtakes McDonalds as No. 1 Chain

MILFORD, Conn.The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Subway sandwich chain has taken over the No. 1 largest restaurant chain spot, in terms of units, globally from McDonalds.

According to the Subway corporate website, there are 34,225 Subway restaurants in 95 countries. The United States has the most locations with 24,015, while Canada ranks No. 2 with 2,592 locations. McDonald's has 32,737 locations in 117 countries.

Subway first ventured outside North America in 1984 when it opened its first location in Bahrain. Since then, it has expanded into many non-traditional sites, located worldwide, including colleges, airports, hospitals, convenience stores, cinemas, hotels, zoos, casinos, museums, amusement parks and sports arenas.

"We're continually looking at just about any opportunity for someone to buy a sandwich, wherever that might be. The closer we can get to the customer, the better," said Subway's Chief Development Officer Don Fertman.