Anyone of a certain age knows the sandwich brand Blimpie, which was once Subway’s main competitor.
But the sandwich chain has had its share of struggles over the years and is going through its own tough times. In fact, TheStreet reported that the company has closed nearly 2,000 stores, leaving less than 100 nationwide.
It’s a huge fall from grace for such a popular sandwich brand.
Unfortunately for Blimpie, it’s associated with Jersey Mike’s, a leading and well-known sandwich chain.
“Blimpie was founded in 1964 in Hoboken, New Jersey, by three partners who borrowed $2,500 to open their first sandwich shop. Blimpie was originally modeled after a business called Mike’s Submarines (which later became Jersey Mike’s), selling a line of very similar sandwiches,” The Takeout reports.
But things began to change at Blimpie’s when new owners took over in 2001, and the chain began to downsize.
“Some of the factors that contributed to Blimpie’s fall from grace included poor management decisions and overexpansion in poorly chosen areas. One of the chain’s biggest mistakes was trying to expand into non-traditional areas such as convenience stores, kiosks and shopping carts. These businesses failed to generate meaningful profits,” the site shared.
Blimpie has been struggling since Kahala Brands swooped in to acquire the chain in 2006.
“Blimpie’s accumulation of challenges and missteps proved too great; it continued to falter, closing more than 1,000 stores between 2001 and 2011 and now with fewer than 100 stores,” Food Republic reports.
Blimpie first opened in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1964, according to a news release. In its growth phase, the sandwich chain opened more than 1,000 stores nationwide and internationally by the mid-1990s, peaking at 2,000 stores in 2002, according to Mashed.
Now, by 2025, the latest figures show the number of Blimpie stores nationwide has shrunk to about 95.
Read the original article at pennlive.com.
