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Subway

Year Opened: Bridgeport, CT First Location: 1965 Bite of History: The first Subway opened as Pete's Super Submarines (or Pete's Subs, as it was referred by regulars) on September 28, 1965. It was named after co-founder and physicist, Dr. Peter Buck, who lent a then 17-year-old Fred DeLuca $1,000 to start the sandwich business. DeLuca hoped the shop would earn enough money to help him finance his college education at the University of Bridgeport. The original menu consisted of seven cold sandwiches with 11 ingredients: meat, bread, onions, tomatoes, green pepper, olives, oil, and seasonings, plus cheese. The concept became a wild success and one year later Buck and DeLuca partnered on a second location. The only issue: the name Pete's Submarines sounded like "pizza marines," which resulted in several customers asking for pizza. The founders decided to drop the "Pete's" and soon settled on Subway.