Subway withdraws from Russia; restaurants to be renamed Subjoy

About 140 Subway fast-food restaurants, operated by the chain's largest Russian franchisee, will be renamed Subjoy, according to the company's website.

Subway is one of the world's largest restaurant chains. The company was founded in the United States in 1965 and has grown using a franchise model. In Russia, the first Subway opened in 1994 in St. Petersburg.

In early 2024, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption added Subway to the list of "international sponsors of war" because the company did not take any steps to scale back its operations in Russia after the full-scale invasion began. Two months later, under international pressure, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to close the register of "war sponsors."

However, in June of the same year, the franchisor Subway International B.V. informed Russian franchisees that it would stop supporting the brand and would terminate the commercial concession agreements.

• McDonald's restaurants in Russia were closed back in 2022 and rebranded as Vkusno i Tochka.
• The KFC network also left Russia at the start of the full-scale invasion, and its outlets were gradually replaced by Rostic's.
• Burger King continues to operate under its own brand.